Vacation Disaster
by MaitsK
Summary: Lucy hates vacations. But when her mother takes her to Akane beach resort, her mind might just change. But when a pink-haired narcissist tries to make things worse, Lucy knows that this might be a recipe for disaster. But is it? AU, Slight Musical, NaLu, Jerza, Gruvia.
1. Chapter 1: That pink-haired devil

**Hey readers!**

 **I edited bits and parts of the story, 'cause a really helpful guest review pointed out my flaws. Although I don't agree with some of it, most of it was really helpful. I wish I could send you a reply. The grammatical flaws, well, they are flaws. But for the characters: I have made some changes in Natsu's and Jellal's personalities. Thank you so much, whatever-your-name-is!**

 **All reviews are helpful to me. And as this is my first** **fan fiction, I really want it to be good! Leave a review! It really helps!**

 **~Tia**

 **VACATION DISASTER**

Chapter 1

That Pink-Haired Devil

* * *

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, but I do own this fan fiction._

* * *

"Lucy! Come fast!" Layla called out from her minivan.

Lucy called back from her bedroom, "Coming Mom!" Lucy Heartfilia, age 17, a proud student of Fairy Tail High, was on vacation. Her worst enemy. She preferred her Christmas vacation being spent at home, watching T.V and eating cake. Then, her mother came up with something which she thought was a brilliant idea. She and her school friends planned a trip with their kids to the beach resort at Akane. It was like the five of them, and just their kids and spouses. They were going to spend the entire vacation there, which was like a month, and pure torture for Lucy. She really loved snuggling in a corner and reading to her heart's content.

Lucy came down the stairs with her small suitcase and her phone in her shorts pocket. She took one look at herself in the mirror. She thought she looked okay. She was wearing pink shorts and a white t-shirt. At the place they were gonna go, was super hot. She tied her blond hair in a pony tail, put a cap, and walked towards the door.

Layla looked at her with an annoyed expression. "You took long."

Lucy looked around and asked, "Isn't Dad coming?"

Layla shook her head and said, "No. Busy with work."

Lucy gave a little sigh. "He's always busy."

Layla smiled and said, "Now cheer up. This trip's gonna be fun, I promise. Not a bit like those boring business trips your dad made us go. And guess what? Erza's coming!" Lucy brightened up when she heard that.

Erza Belserion, who preferred to be called Erza Scarlet ever since she turned 18, was Lucy's maternal cousin. They knew each other since they were infants, and were best friends. Erza was the total opposite of Lucy, yet they got along perfectly well. She too loved books, but her choice of books was a little perverted.

"So, is Aunt Eileen coming?" Lucy asked.

"No. She's busy too. But I think she deserves a vacation, seeing all that she's going through." Layla replied.

Eileen was Erza's mother and Layla's sister, and had brought up Erza all on her own. She even taught Erza self-defense.

"Get in the van, Lucy. We'll go pick up Erza then go straight to Akane." Lucy got in the van.

They reached Erza's house which was 30 minutes away from their house. Erza tackled Lucy into a bone-crushing hug, so did Eileen do to Layla.

"Lucy! Come have some strawberry cake!" Erza cried.

"Actually dear, we don't have time for strawberry cake. Sorry Eileen, but we are running a little late for our meeting time. I wish you could come, though." Layla said sadly.

Eileen laughed and said, "It's okay! I'll try to make it in a few weeks, if I can! See you Lucy and Erza. Take care, and give me a call when you reach. Bye!"

Erza kept her luggage in the trunk in the back of the vehicle (which were four **huge** white suitcases printed with strawberry cakes!) and got in the backseat with Lucy.

They all were on their way again. Erza immediately started a conversation. Layla was driving, but she could hear it, and was grinning at some parts.

"Hey Lucy, how is school?"

"It's fun! Levy, Cana and I have so much fun together! Although Cana teases me a lot, and is a big pervert, she's a lot of fun. Levy is like my twin in all but looks and height."

"And chest size." Erza added, grinning.

Lucy blushed and said, "Erza! Stop it!"

"So Lucy, caught any boyfriend yet?"

Lucy gave a groan and said, "Nope. Looks like my Mr. Perfect does not exist."

Erza rolled her eyes and said, "So, how _does_ your Mr. Perfect _look_ like?"

Lucy's eyes went all dreamy and said, "He should have lovely eyes, like the color of a gemstone, really cool hair, body of a God, and a heart of gold."

Erza snorted and said, "Lucy, your Mr. Perfect is really _way_ of your reach."

Layla smirked and said, "So Erza, who is that blue-haired guy you keep staring at in Fairy Tail College? Didn't think I'd notice whenever I pick you up?"

Erza turned into a shade very similar to her hair color and stuttered, "J-jellal?"

Lucy whipped her head around and said, "The hottest guy in Fairy Tail College? Him? The heartthrob?"

Erza slowly nodded her head. "I may or may not have a little crush on him." She said in a small voice.

Lucy gave a nudge and said, "Awww!" Layla laughed.

* * *

Layla shook the two cousins who were sleeping in the backseat. "Wake up! We're here!" Erza and Lucy jerked awake.

They quickly pulled their luggage out of the vehicle. When they looked up, a gasp escaped from their mouths. "Wow…"

The Sun Resort was huge, very huge, and very posh-looking. When they stepped inside, a resort worker took their luggage to their rooms, yes, rooms. Layla said that there would be an arrangement of who'd be sharing a room with who once they meet up with everyone.

Lucy asked curiously, "Who all are gonna be there?"

Layla replied, "Well, let's see," she started counting using her fingers "Jennifer Lockser with her daughter. Mika Fullbuster and her son, who also has a friend coming along. Anna Strauss and her kids. And, of course, Grandeeney and Igneel Dragneel. They're coming with their kids and one friend of one of their kids."

Erza said thoughtfully, "Hmm…That's a lot of people."

Layla smiled and said, "It was always Jennifer, Mika, Anna, Grandeeney and me. Igneel would also be there. Even Silver, Mika's husband. But he passed away a few years back. He was a real gentleman." Layla added, sadly. She looked at her watch and then said, "Oh my! It's already time for us to meet! Follow me, girls!"

Erza and Lucy followed Layla through another exit of the resort. It led to the lovely beach. Erza said with approval, "It's very pleasant."

Lucy looked at her with disbelief. "It's awesome, Erza! By the way, Mom, where are the others?"

As if to answer her question, they heard a voice calling out, "Layla! Over here!"

They turned and saw a blue-haired woman calling out to them. She looked about as old as Layla. She was standing outside a big beach house.

Layla ran and cried out, "Grandeeney! Both women hugged each other tightly. Grandeeney exclaimed, "Oh Layla! You're looking beautiful, as usual!"

Layla giggled and said, "Not so bad yourself, Grandeeney!"

They pulled away, and then Grandeeney saw Lucy and Erza. "Are these your daughters? They are so lovely! This one looks just like you!" Grandeeney gave both of them a warm hug.

"No, no! This is Lucy, my daughter. And this is Erza, my niece. She is one year older than Lucy, and studies in Fairy Tail College." Layla said.

Grandeeney smiled at them and said, "Come on in, girls. Almost everyone's here. Except for Mika, of course. Always late."

They went inside the beach house. Lucy was feeling pretty happy up till now. IT didn't seem anything like the boring trips her father took them to. She was beginning to think that she might make some new friends.

When they reached the drawing room, Grandeeney said, "This is our summer house. We could all live here. The Resort doesn't mind us staying here instead of the rooms in there. As long as we are paying for the other activities, and beach, they don't care."

Layla exclaimed, "That's a brilliant idea! But what about our luggage? It's not with us; it's in our rooms at the resort."

Grandeeney smiled and said, "Correction: it's in your rooms in this beach house. Come let me show you around."

They followed Grandeeney to a big room. "Layla, this where we are gonna be sleeping! You, Mika, Jennifer, Anna and me!"

Layla gave a gasp."It's decorated the way just like you used to in your room whenever we came over your house for a nightover!" Grandeeney nodded her head with a smile.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Dragneel, where are we going to sleep?" Lucy asked politely. Grandeeney said, "Pfft…call me Aunt Grandeeney. Come dears, I'll show you your room."

They followed her to another room. There were two girls already there. Grandeeney introduced them to Lucy and Erza.

"This is my daughter Wendy," she said, pointing to a 13 year-old girl with long blue hair "And this is Juvia Lockser." Juvia had light blue hair as well, but looked as old as Lucy.

Lucy said, "Hey! You're from my class!"

Juvia smiled and said, "Yes. But we haven't actually spoken to each other. Hope we can be friends."

Wendy also gave an adorable smile and said, "Hi! Can I call you Lucy-nee and Erza-nee? I don't have any older sisters to have girl talks with, so…"

Erza gave a big smile and pulled Wendy into a bone-crushing hug and exclaimed, "So cuuute! Of course, we are all your older sisters over here."

Grandeeney smiled to herself and slowly walked away from the room towards her own. Layla was with Jennifer and they were talking to each other.

"And your daughter looks just like you!" Jennifer exclaimed.

"So does yours!" Grandeeney added.

"Oh Grandi! Come sit with us. Where is Anna?" Layla asked.

A beautiful woman walked in. She looked very young, as old as Erza. She had long white hair, which seemed to flow.

"Hi, I'm Mirajane. I'm Anna's older daughter, and this is my sister Lisanna. Mom had a very urgent business trip, so just Lisanna, my brother Elfman and I have come. Elfman has gone with the other male members to get the food."

All the ladies smiled and said, "Well, why don't you go find the room where the other girls are? It's on the first floor. Make yourselves comfortable."

"Sure." Said Lisanna and they walked up the stairs to the first floor.

They found all the girls sitting and talking with each other.

When Lucy turned to look at tem, she gave a gasp. "Oh my God! You are Mirajane Strauss, right? I've seen you on the cover page of the magazine Sorcerer Weekly. And even your sister, Lisanna Strauss!"

Both sisters smiled. Lisanna gave a sweet smile and said, "Hi all, I'm Lisanna. I may be a cover model for Sorcerer Weekly, but trust me; I'm just a normal school-going girl. I study in Fairy Tail High School."

Erza smiled and said, "That's nice to know. I am Erza, this is Lucy my cousin, and she and Juvia here too study in Fairy Tail High School. They are in their final year."

Lisanna smiled at them. "So am I. Mira-nee goes to Fairy Tail College. So does Elf-nee."

Wendy, who was quiet all this while said, "I study in Fairy Tail Middle School."

Erza checked her watch and said, "C'mon guys, it's already time for lunch. Let's go downstairs. I'm sure the rest of our group must be back." "Yeah!" Everyone else agreed.

They went downstairs, chatting merrily.

Grandeeney saw them and said, "Just in time. We are having lunch in the hall balcony. It's pretty big. You girls can help with getting the cutlery."

Juvia and Lucy went to the kitchen to get glasses and juice. Erza and Mirajane had volunteered to keep the plates, and they were pretty fast with their work. Wendy and Lisanna were outside, helping them. Juvia grabbed the glasses and walked quickly. But then she bumped into someone.

"Whoa! Be careful where you are going, girl!"

She looked up, and saw a raven-haired boy looking at her.

Lucy appeared just then and said, "Juvia what are you doing? Hurry up with the glasses."

And then she saw the boy and Juvia blushing profusely. Lucy smirked and then whispered into Juvia's ear, "Don't worry, I won't disturb you guys."

Juvia turned into a deeper shade of red and whispered angrily, "It's not like that, Lucy! Don't turn into Juvia's love rival!"

Lucy titled her head. _Love rival? But I didn't do anything._

The boy straightened up and said, "I'm Gray Fullbuster. And I'm guessing that you are Juvia and Lucy." The girls nodded.

Lucy asked, "How did you know?"

Gray gave a grimace and said, "Because a scarlet-haired demon outside is yelling out your names at the top of her voice."

"Oh shit! We totally forgot about Erza's strawberry cake! Run!" Juvia and Lucy chorused together.

Lucy quickly grabbed Erza's Sweet Surprise strawberry cake and ran outside.

* * *

"We're sorry, ma'am." Lucy and Juvia said, their heads bowed before the scarlet-haired girl.

She seemed happier now, now that she had strawberry cake in her hands. "It's alright. Don't be late next time."

Gray mumbled, "Scary."

They were the only ones outside on the balcony.

"Where are the others?" Lucy asked Gray.

Gray replied, "Getting the food. Lisanna and Wendy are with Mirajane and Elfman. Natsu and Gajeel are fighting each other, while Jellal, my friend, is enjoying the scene."

Erza suddenly choked on a bit of strawberry cake. "D-do you mean to s-say Jellal F-Fernandez?"

Gray nodded his head. "Why?"

Lucy blurted out, "That's because she has a cru-" Erza gave Lucy a punch.

Gray smirked and understood the situation. Things were about to get really awkward so Lucy decided to call the others to the balcony. She was walking slowly towards the door, when she collided with someone running.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…" Lucy started saying until she realized who she had collided with. This guy had… _pink_ hair? He looked up. He looked really annoyed. Lucy just realized how beautiful his onyx eyes were, until he started speaking.

"Sorry my foot! Where the hell are your eyes? Can't they see a hot guy in front of them?"

Lucy almost slapped herself for thinking that he had beautiful eyes. _"Ugh…He's so full of himself!"_

He then snapped his fingers in front of her eyes and said, "Wake up, princess! I know you are staring at this," he pointed at himself "And it's creeping me out. So please stop it." He smirked and waved his hand and went to the bathroom.

Lucy just stood there. She then raised her hands, and slapped herself. "Get in control, Lucy!"

* * *

All of them were sitting outside at the balcony. They were having an introduction session. Lucy found most of the people very friendly unlike _some_ she had just met. Igneel Dragneel was a very friendly man. He had red hair, and teeth which looked a lot like fangs. The pink-haired narcissist was his son, Natsu Dragneel. Lucy wondered where he got the pink from. Wendy seemed looked a lot like her mother.

Jennifer Lockser and Juvia Lockser looked like sisters, except that Jennifer had a few wrinkles near her eyes. Elfman was very nice, except for the fact that he kept shouting 'man' for any reason. Mirajane and Lisanna too were very friendly, except that they kept matchmaking.

Once they saw Erza blushing every time Jellal looked at her, they immediately came up with plans to get them together. Jellal was like any other heartthrob, extremely handsome and kept throwing the girls flirty looks, but Lucy knew his heart was at the right place. Erza had mentioned an incident in which he saved a little blue-haired girl from trouble. That blue-haired girl turned out to be Wendy.

Mika Fullbuster had lovely brown hair, and dark blue eyes which looked black at first. She was nothing like her son, who kept stripping for no reason. "This is a habit he's got from his nanny, Ur." She whispered to Lucy, Juvia, Wendy and Erza.

Gray had another weird obsession of eating ice cones every other minute. He had eyes just like his mother.

Wendy was, of course, the total opposite of her brother, is what Lucy thought. She was sweet, adorable, and very kind. She had cute brown eyes, which Lucy found adorable. Though she had a problem of tripping over things a lot, she was mostly good at art, baking, and singing. She had a white cat in her hands, which she called Carla.

Her cousin had come along with them. His name was Gajeel Redfox. Lucy remembered Levy talking about some Gajeel Redfox every time. She couldn't believe her best friend had a crush on _this creature._

By this creature, she meant that Gajeel looked nothing like Levy's type. He had piercings everywhere: nose, ears, above the eyes, chin, hands, etc, etc. Lucy could swear that she saw a piece of _iron_ in his mouth, which he seemed to _chewing_ like some gum. He had long, spiky black hair and red eyes. On the top of that, he seemed to laugh like, "Geeheehee!" And to top it all off, he had a really bad habit of fighting every opportunity he got.

But, Natsu was worse. He fought every time for every reason. He had this strange liking to spicy food and Tabasco sauce. And he kept wearing a scarf which he insisted on wearing even though Grandeeney disagreed. Overall, he was nothing like Lucy's dream boy, except he had beautiful eyes. And for some reason, he would keep fighting with Gray. Lucy then remembered that he was the most popular guy in her school. But to her, he seemed like any other delinquent.

* * *

After lunch, the girls decided to go explore the beach. Lucy was happy that she didn't have to change into shorts like the others. She went out of the house and sat drinking a glass of juice, waiting for the others.

Then, she had the misfortune of meeting the pink-haired narcissist. "Look whose here. Miss Clumsy Heartfilia." And he walked closer.

Lucy immediately reacted by saying, "It's Lucy!"

He nodded aimlessly, "Yeah whatever, Luigi." "It's L-U-C-Y!"

"Look Blondie, I want you to stay out of my way. Here's a warning: don't mess with me. I consider myself as Fairy Tail's baddest boy. And you, unlike the other girls I know, are not very respectful. Better mind your manners."

Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but she found it covered by his large hand. He was dangerously close.

"No more words from your mouth. Or I'll do something that you will never forget."

Lucy wrenched his hand from her mouth. "Listen you fucking bastard, I don't give a fuck about what you do to me. You may be the baddest boy in my school, but that doesn't mean I'll not straighten you out. This is the word of the Student Council President Lucy Heartifilia."

Natsu smirked and said, "Well, you might be the President there, but not here."

Lucy smirked as well and said, "I can say the same to you. You might be the biggest hot-shot at Fairy Tail, but I swear I'll still straighten you out."

"Challenge accepted, Prez. By the way, I'm really digging that pink thong."

Lucy looked down and saw that her shorts were missing. When she looked up, she saw Natsu smirking and walking with a pair of pink shorts. Her shorts!

"Thanks for the souvenir, Prez!" And he walked away laughing.

Lucy walked back into the house, her face the color of Erza's hair. _"I swear I'll get back at you, Natsu Dragneel!"_

Erza saw her first when she entered their room. "What happened Lucy?"

Lucy was silent, but inwards she was screaming, _"That pink-haired devil!"_

* * *

 _This is my first fanfic. Leave a review for me to let me know what you feel about it.  
Tia  
_


	2. Chapter 2: Operation Jerza

**VACATION DISASTER**

 **Hey readers! Thanks for your lovely reviews! I'll be updating a new chapter once a week! Love you all!**

 **~ Tia**

Chapter Two

Operation Jerza

* * *

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, but I do own this fanfiction._

* * *

I looked at Erza, and then her eyes went on my clothes. "Oh my…Lucy, what the hell happened to your clothes?" I forced my face into a smile and said, "Lost them." And added in my mind 'to a pervert'.

I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and right now I am on vacation. Ah, Christmas. The festival of joy and cheer. Right now, that's the last thing I am. Being joyful. Because a certain pink haired pervert is in possession of my favorite shorts! Somebody spare me from this torture!

Erza then said, "Hey Lucy, let's go to the beach. Get changed, we all are ready anyways."

That cheered me up. Okay, just a bit.

* * *

"Wow! This is just perfect!" Wendy squealed. Lucy had to agree with her. Even though it was winter, there was warm feeling in the weather here. The girls waded for a bit in the water, and moaned about not getting their swimsuits with them. They then went to a little bar for drinks.

Mirajane placed her order first. "I'll have a Pinacolada."

Lisanna ordered the same thing.

"Umm…I'll have a banana shake." Wendy said.

"Strawberry shake for me!" Erza yelled.

"Juvia will have an iced lemon tea."

The barmaid turned to Lucy. "And you miss?" Lucy thought for a while. Lucy was craving strawberry, too. "I'll have a strawberry shake, too."

They were waiting for our drink that is when some people came to the bar. Lucy saw Erza drooling over one of them, so she adjusted her glasses and saw that it was Jellal Fernandez. She smirked to herself. Then, she saw Elfman, Gray, Gajeel and Natsu. She groaned.

Then, she saw Mirajane's expression. _Oh, no. No, no, no._ thought Lucy. _That can't mean well_.

As if to add fuel to Lucy's suspicion, she passed a note to her and Lisanna.

And guess what it read: 'Matchmaking time! *winks*'

Lucy groaned to herself. Lisanna, on the other hand, was squealing with joy.

Wendy, the innocent little lamb, was looking at them curiously. Lucy covered her ears, so that she couldn't listen to their plans.

* * *

Stage One of Operation of Operation Jerza: (Codename: Jealousy)

(~by _Mirajane_ )

Mira walked up to the boys, dressed like a barmaid. All except Elfman and Jellal were drooling looking at her.

"What may I get you, gentlemen?" She added in a sweet voice.

Gray swallowed and said, "An iced tea."

Mirajane started twirling her hair and said, "Which flavor?" "Just the ice. With a little sprinkle of lemon."

Lucy looked at the girls sitting next to her. Wendy looked a little confused, wondering what Mirajane's intentions were. Lisanna had the same matchmaking expression on her face. Juvia on the other hand, excuse me, but did she just see hearts in her eyes? "Gray-sama just ordered the same drink that Juvia did!" she whispered to her.

' _Oh God, this girl needed a serious check-up.'_ Thought Lucy.

Natsu ordered a chili soda _. 'Does that drink even exist?'_ thought Lucy. In addition, he winked at Mirajane. Lucy rolled her eyes. That playboy!

Elfman didn't order a drink, but asked Mira, "What are you doing sis?"

She replied with a sweet smile, "Part time job during vacations. What do you want to order?"

"Chocolate shake, it's a manly drink." Elfman replied with pride.

Gray mumbled, "That's definitely the last thing that is manly."

Jellal ordered a cold coffee. "And would you like a little sugar, as an addition?" She said her voice dangerously seductive. Jellal seemed unfazed and said, "No, thank you."

But somebody else wasn't so unfazed. Lucy could swear that she felt some scarlet-haired person was glaring daggers at a certain white-haired waitress. She then got up and stormed towards the bathroom.

Lisanna wrote on a piece of tissue: Stage One – Success.

* * *

After they finished their drinks, they ran towards the beach house. They ran up to their rooms and grabbed their purses. Lucy called out, "Mom! We are going to the resort shops!"

Layla poked her head inside their room and asked, "To buy what?"

"Swimsuits! We heard that the swimsuits of Akane are awesome!" Lisanna supplied Layla with an answer.

Erza looked puzzled and said, "Swimsuits? But I thought that we were going to buy strawberry cake!"

"Oh, Erza, I think we really need to update your swimsuit collection. So shut up, and come along!" Lucy said cheerfully, and sounded so fake, that even Wendy raised an eyebrow. Mirajane shot a demonic look, and Lucy made herself sound a little more convincing.

' _Mirajane can be scarier than Erza sometimes. Oh no, Erza is giving me the devil's eye again. Correction: Both Erza and Mirajane are equally scary_.' Lucy thought.

They reached the clothes shop. Lucy chose a cute white two piece with red frills at its edges. Wendy chose a two piece swimsuit which consisted of a skirt. It was white too, but had pink frills at the end of the skirt. Mirajane chose a dark blue swimsuit. Lisanna chose a purple swimsuit.  
After lots of persuasion, Erza finally agreed to buy a cute purple swimsuit Lisanna and Lucy found. It looked perfect on her. Surprisingly, she started appreciating it once she wore it. They then decided that they would wear them tomorrow as it was a little too late to go to swim now.

They went for a little tour of the resort.

"Wow! Look at this toy store. It sells all sorts of Barbie dolls!" Erza exclaimed.

The rest of them had sweat drops except for Wendy. "Yeah, you're right!"

"How old are you guys? Seven?" Lucy exclaimed.

* * *

At the cake shop:  
"Please Lucy, just one more strawberry cake!" Erza cried.

Lucy pulled her away from the shop. "We were here to window shop, not eat! I am not lending you money to have more strawberry cake."

Mirajane said, "How come she doesn't gain weight?"

Lucy murmured, "It's a mystery. Probably because she works out, which I have never seen her do."

At the lingerie store:  
Lucy cried, "Seriously, why are we even here?"

Wendy looked around, her cheeks beet red. "Is this, what you wear, Lucy-nee?" she said, pointing at a daring piece of lingerie.

Lucy flushed up and said, "Why would I even wear that? It's just pieces of string put together!"

Erza and Mirajane nodded approvingly at the lingerie. "We should really consider wearing this."

Lucy exclaimed, "Which world are you from?"

At the perfume store:  
The store manager was a short, ugly man with brown hair and a strange obsession to sniffing us. "I am Ichiya, the manager of this aromatic store. I must say, sniff, sniff, your parfum is very appealing, miss. Man~!"

Lucy jumped a mile up and whispered, "Let's get out here. This man is creeping me out."

Erza nodded as well. But before they left, Erza gave the man such a kick, that he went right out of the roof yelling, "Man~!"

At the toy shop, again:  
Lisanna squealed, "Mira-nee! We need to buy this little plushy cat. I love it!"

Mira shook her head and said, "No Liz, we're going home."

Lisanna's eyes went all sparkling and she said with a pout, "Pretty please?"

Mira gave in and said, "Fine."

"Yippee!" Lisanna squealed.

* * *

They reached back to the beach house. Although they did get an earful from the women, Igneel just sat looking at them with a smile.

Natsu walked up to him and asked, "What are you smiling at, Dad?"

Igneel just shook his head. "Nothing much, just wondering how quickly you kids grew up."

Natsu looked at him disbelievingly, "Huh? How is that possible? We all have met each other for the first time, right?"

Igneel shook his head and said, "No. We have met, once. When Gray's father was alive, at that time. I don't think you would remember. We had a surprise party. What was it for…Ah! For Wendy's baby shower."

"What! Then I must be…wait, how old was I then…"

Igneel answered patiently, "4 years, Natsu. So were Lucy, Gray, Juvia, and Lisanna."

"How old is Elfman?"

"18. Mira is 19."

"So they were 5 and 6. Wow, Mira is older than Erza."

Natsu shifted his attention to the girls, particularly one of them. "So how come do I not know her?" he murmured.

Igneel laughed and said, "'Cause you have the memory of a teaspoon? But I'm sure that others don't remember. Except for Mirajane."

Natsu gave a groan and went to the balcony. He called out, "Mom, I'm roasting the kebabs on the barbecue."

He walked over to the barbecue and picked out some pieces of meat and pickles and started flipping them over. He didn't notice someone come in, until that person gave a smart-ass comment.

"For an idiot, you can cook very well."

He turned behind and scowled a very familiar blonde leaning on the door, her hands crossed.

Lucy covered her mouth in mock surprise, "Oh my gosh! Did I piss off Baby Natsu?"

Natsu yawned, "Just go away, Prez. I have no time for your lectures."

Lucy scowled, "I am not here to give a lecture. Can't you realize that I just complimented you?"

Natsu quirked an eyebrow. "Are you falling for me, Prez?"

Lucy gave a snort. "ME? Falling for YOU? Are you serious, Natsu Dragneel? Even if the world will break apart, and you will be the only one left along with me, I will never fall for you!"

Natsu reacted, "Ouch. That hurt right here." He pointed at his chest.

Lucy gave a I-don't-give-a-fuck look. "By the way, your kebabs are burning." She turned around and started walking back in the house.

"That blonde bitch…" He muttered.

"That pinky pervert…" She muttered.

Were things going to get any better? That is until, a certain matchmaker who overheard their conversation made up her mind.

"Next mission: NaLu." Lisanna whispered.

* * *

 **Didn't think that it will be Lisanna who brings them together?**

 **Nah, I love her too much to make her the bitch of this fanfic.**

 **Not much of Jerza, and a pretty short chapter. I know, I know, very crappy, please don't kill me if it disappoints you.**

 **And in this fic, Mira is older than Erza. In the manga and anime, both are of the same age**

 **~Tia**


	3. Chapter 3: Be Yourself

**VACATION DISASTER**

Chapter Three

Be Yourself

 **Hey readers! This is the update for Vacation Disaster! I posted this a little early, so enjoy!**

 **Thank you so much for the reviews and favorites!**

 **~ Tia**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, but I do own this fan fiction.**_

* * *

I opened my eyes and got up from my sleep. When I saw the blazing sun, I almost grinned. It reminded me of someone of my past. _What was her name?_ Never mind. Need to tell the guys that it is a perfect day to go swimming. I took one look at myself in the mirror. _Hey handsome._

* * *

"Lucy! Come fast! We're getting late for breakfast!" Juvia called out from the hall.

Lucy looked at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a skirt and a top. Her swimsuit was beneath her clothes.

"Oh! Forgot the final touch!" She put on her thick glasses. "Perfect! Just like the President!"

She ran down the stairs and ran towards the balcony.

She bowed several times to no one in particular. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry for being five minutes late to breakfast!"

She then heard someone snort. She looked up and saw a person with spiky black hair and red eyes. It wasn't Gajeel, though.

"Relax kid, I'm not gonna kill you for coming a few minutes late. And your eyes don't have a nasty look like my son."

Lucy asked him, "Are you Gajeel's father?"

He nodded. "The one and only Metalicana Redfox."

 _"That's one unique name."_ Lucy thought. "Mr. Redfox, where are the others?"

Metalicana blanched and said, "Girl, don't make me feel old. Call me Metalicana. And here they are."

Lucy turned around and saw everyone coming towards the balcony. Igneel gave a roar of what seemed to be laughter and said, "Metalicana! Long time no see! How's with the metal business?"

Metalicana shrugged and said, "Not much. We're more into Iron, if you forgot. And how's with the coal business?"

Igneel replied, "Rockin'. And Grandeeney's medicine factory is doing fine, as well."

Grandeeney snorted and said, "Fine? I'm doing much better than you two combined!"

Both Metalicana and Igneel shrugged and said, "Yeah, yeah."

Layla interrupted them and said, "Excuse me? We're here to have a vacation, not have business meetings."

* * *

All of them were laughing and chatting endlessly. The breakfast was really enjoyable. Layla and Grandeeney had made scrambled eggs, with sausages and bacon. Mika and Jennifer had made blueberry yogurt and pancakes. Mira, Lisanna and Lucy had helped making iced tea for everyone.

But the main dish was Igneel's special: Fire Chicken. When Lucy took one bit of it, she thought that her mouth was on fire. She saw Natsu actually taking a _third_ helping of it. She looked disbelieved when Natsu popped the entire thing in his mouth and asked for another helping.

He smirked and said, "Impressed, Prez?"

She stuck her tongue out.

Lisanna shook her head. _"If this goes on, NaLu will never sail."_ She thought.

Layla interrupted her thoughts and said, "We'll discuss our plans for today. Grandi, Jennifer, Mika and I are going shopping at the resort. Igneel and Metalicana are going to see a wrestling match being held in the resort. What are your plans for today, girls and boys?"

Lucy said, "We're going swimming."

But she wasn't the only one who said it. Natsu looked at her with disbelief. "How did you know our plans?"

Lucy retorted, "That is what I should be asking you!"

Erza gave them a look and they soon quieted down. Layla continued as if nothing had just happened, "Great! So you kids are going swimming! Enjoy!"

Lucy felt something heavy in her stomach fall. Swimming with a pink-haired pervy narcissist. Just perfect for a disaster.

* * *

In the girls' room:

"Lucy! You can't go in the water with your glasses on! And not in that ridiculous bun!" Lisanna squealed.

Lucy protested, "But I can't see anything without my glasses!"

Erza replied patiently, "Nonsense. You can see perfectly well. Don't try to fool me."

Lisanna grinned in triumph. She took her glasses out and gave a gasp. Erza smirked. Mira, Juvia and Wendy crowded around.

"Such lovely eyes~" "Why did you try to cover them up?" "Lucy-nee, your eyes are so kawaii~" "Juvia approves of those eyes too."

Lucy sighed and said, "Erza, please tell them."

Erza said a bland voice, "Lucy thinks that if she doesn't wear glasses and clothes too big for her, boys will flock around her; which she doesn't like. Getting her to wear a swimsuit was a big challenge, itself."

Lisanna sighed and said, "I see. But for this vacation, let loose, Prez! It's a _vacation_! Be yourself!"

Lucy smiled and said, "Fine. But only for this vacation."

Little did she know how many hearts she would capture that day.

* * *

In the boys' room:

"Hey Tabasco freak, what the heck are you wearing?" Gray asked Natsu.

Natsu was wearing his favorite swimwear, which was black and was patterned with red dragons and flames.

"It's called swimwear. I should be asking you that. What the heck are _you_ wearing, snow-cone? I can't see how it looks like."

Gray snorted and looked down and said, "It's my- Hey! Where in the name of ice-cream did my pants go?"

Now it was Natsu's turn to snort. "You probably threw it somewhere. I think you should go grab another pair of pants, people don't need to see how big your butt is."

Jellal shook his head, while Gajeel couldn't control his laughter. Gray soon changed into another pair of pants. But he looked very down. "That was my favorite…" He murmured.

Little did he know, behind the room's door, a certain blue-haired person was clutching his pants to her heart. "Gray-sama's favorite pants!" Juvia cried.

* * *

At the beach:

"Oh! The beach feels so nice! By the way, Erza, Lucy, what's wrong with you?" Mirajane asked.

Lucy was fidgeting with the straps of her swimsuit. She thought it showed too much cleavage.

Erza, however, had a completely different reason for looking nervous. Lisanna cleared her throat and pointed at someone near the ocean.

It was the boys. Gajeel, Natsu and Gray were fighting in the sand. Jellal was walking out of the water, his well-built body dripping with water.

Mira chuckled and said, "Erza, why don't you confess already?"

Erza turned into a million shades of red and stuttered, "N-no! I-I can't do that! I mean, who w-wants a girl like m-me to be their g-girlfriend?"

"Many people." Lucy suddenly spoke.

"Erza, you may think that you're not pretty, but you are beautiful. Everyone knows that. You need to let go of this negative thinking and pulling yourself down. You are beautiful, not because of your looks, which I think are stunning, but because of you are. You are the girl who can beat down anyone to protect her friends. You may be a little silly, and obsessed with strawberry cake, but that is who you are. And I love you for that very reason, dear sis. That's why you are beautiful. Be yourself, sis!"

Erza was lost for words. Then she pulled Lucy into a bone-crushing hug. "I love you too, sis!"

Mira and Juvia sniffed and wiped tears from their eyes. "Such a beautiful moment." Wendy and Lisanna sweat dropped.

Lucy then pulled away from Erza and said, "So guys, what are we waiting for? Let's get in the water!"

"Yeah!" everyone agreed with her.

Gajeel saw the girls and chuckled. "Hey Jellal! She's here!"

Jellal gave a what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about look. Then he saw Erza. He was lost for words. She was running with some girl he didn't know.

Mira and Lisanna waved at the boys, so did Wendy. "Hey guys!"

Juvia was walking very shyly. Her swimsuit, which was a two piece purple one, included a skirt. She muttered, "Juvia doesn't want anyone other Gray-sama to see Juvia in this."

Mira said, "Cheer up! Just think about how much fun we are going to have."

And they indeed had a lot of fun. After sometime, Lucy and Wendy got tired of swimming and decided to make sandcastles. Natsu, who had been ignoring the girls, noticed that his sister wasn't in the water. Then he saw her building a sand castle with a blonde girl he didn't know.

Curious, he approached them. Wendy saw him and said in an excited voice, "Natsu-nii! Do you want to join us?"

The blonde gave a groan, and turned around to face him, "What? Why is Pinky so interested in building a sandcastle?"

Natsu gave a patient sigh, "It's salmon, not pi-"

But he stopped midway. He saw that the blonde girl he was so interested in was none other his sworn enemy, Lucy.

"What the heck? Blondie what are you doing here?"

Lucy gave a groan. "I'm here on a vacation, Pinky. And since my friends wanted me to come swimming, and so did I, I decided to come here. Problem?" She said, sarcasm dripping from her tone.

Natsu's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, when he saw the person in front of him. This was so not the Lucy Heartfilia he knew. She was fat, she was ugly, she had glass eyes instead of real ones, and her hair was always in a messy bun. This girl standing in front of him was, he hated admitting it to himself, hot.

She had delicious curves, beautiful chocolate brown eyes, long hair which seemed to glow in the afternoon sun. It reminded him of someone.

Somebody snapped her fingers in front of face. "Quit staring, pervert! Tell me why you came here?"

Natsu just remembered that this girl couldn't be the girl he remembered. This was Lucy Heartfilia, bossy President, his sworn enemy, yelling at him for no reason.

"I was here to spend some time with my little sister, Blondie. Problem?" He spat the last word at her in the same tone she used.

Her face turned into a pout which he thought was cute. _"No. Bad Natsu! She's not cute!"_

She just shook her head and sighed after that. "Wendy, I'm going to swim. Wanna join in a game of ball?"

Wendy brightened up and exclaimed, "Sure!" and with that the two of them left Natsu standing.

Natsu couldn't believe what happened. Had Lucy Heartfilia, the most fucked up girl according to him, given a sigh because she expected him to behave better?!

He knew that there were chances that he had misread the situation. But, a little voice in his heart was telling him that he was right.

* * *

"Wendy! Catch it!" Lucy yelled. Wendy lunged for the ball, but then she fell. "Ow…"

Lucy hurried up to her side and asked her, "Are you okay, Wendy?"

Wendy gave a small smile. And then she jumped up. "Yup! A small fall like that ain't gonna get me all crying!"

Lucy gave a grin and laughed, "That's my girl!"

Gray looked at someone intently. Sure, she wasn't stalking him anymore like the first day, which was a huge relief, but he couldn't believe that the pretty girl beating him in swimming was Juvia. She seemed to love being in the water.

She screamed out to all the competitors of the race, "Juvia has won this round!"

Erza caught up with her and said, "You sure are like a mermaid. How can you keep your breath so long underwater?"

Juvia smiled and said, "Mom owns the chain of Lockser swimming pools. Juvia trained in the one nearest to our house since she was four."

Mira exclaimed, "Wow! That's awesome!"

Gajeel smirked and said, "What did they call you in middle school?"

Juvia grinned and said, "Water baby."

Jellal reacted, "You know each other before you'll met up here?"

Both of them nodded. "Before Juvia used to attend Phantom Lord Academy. Juvia joined Fairy Tail when Juvia started high school. So did Gajeel."

Lisanna nodded and said, "So that's how you two know each other."

Gray realized that his stalker used to attend their rival school, which closed down a few years ago. It did because it functioned school activities illegally.

Juvia then saw Gray staring at her. She blushed and thought, _"Is Gray-sama staring at Juvia because Juvia's butt looks big? Or is it because we both reciprocate feelings?"_

Lisanna looked at Juvia and Gray and smiled. _"They'll make a great couple. I wish that Gray returns Juvia's feelings. I don't think that this couple needs a little rush. This situation suits them. As for these two idiots,"_ Lisanna frowned when she thought about Natsu and Lucy. She hadn't told her sister about her plans about making these two a couple. She had her own reasons for making them a couple, which she didn't share with anyone.

She then thought of what she called a bright idea.

She went up to Lucy and Wendy. She then grabbed Lucy and placed her in front of her.

She called out, "Hey boys! What do you think of Lucy in this swimsuit?"

Lucy including all the guys blushed.

Erza had to be held behind by Mira. "How dare Lisanna embarrass my sister like that?!"

Mira reassured her, "Don't worry. My sister won't pull of a stunt like that for any reason."

Gray coughed and said, "I think she looks cute." Gajeel nodded in approval.

Jellal smirked and said, "Like any other hot girl."

Natsu smirked and retorted, "I think she looks like a kid in her bikini."

Lucy's face burned up when she heard that comment. Lisanna almost slapped Natsu.

Lucy, to her surprise, laughed and said, "Well, look who's talking. Those abs of yours look so fake, I almost barfed!"

Natsu gave a snort, "Is that the best retort you have for me?"

Lucy glared, "I have more, you fucking bastard! Just when things get better for me, some idiot like you has to ruin it! Now, thanks to you, my mood's ruined! I'm going back to the beach house!" Lucy stormed back to the beach house.

All the girls were shooting daggers at Natsu.

Gajeel said, "Whew… You did get her pretty mad."

Jellal sighed and said, "Why do people have to be so childish?"

Gray however stuttered, "Natsu…I think you should run."

Natsu snorted, "Run to that Blondie? For what? To beg for her forgiveness?"

Gray shook his head and pointed behind Natsu. "No, you idiot! From that demon!" Natsu turned behind a little too late. Erza had given a good punch by that time. And he was knocked out to remember anything about running.

* * *

 **There you are! Pretty crappy, but for those of you who wanted Natsu to be beaten by Erza, I hoped you all enjoyed it! Leave a lovely review!**

 **P.S: Try to guess whose P.O.V it was at the beginning of this chapter!**

 **~Tia**


	4. Chapter 4: The Reason Why

**VACATION DISASTER**

Chapter Four

The Reason Why

 **Hey readers! Here's the next update for Vacation Disaster!**

 **A note to a Guest Review: Thank you so much for the review! It's much appreciated!**

 **As for the rest of you who have been with me since the beginning, love you all!**

 **~Tia**

* * *

A week after the dreadful fight between Natsu and Lucy, things had begun to quiet down. Natsu and Lucy were basically ignoring each other. The boys couldn't be very bothered by this piece of news. One of them however was.

"It's good they're ignoring each other, every time they fought my ears would hurt." Gajeel commented one fine evening to Jellal, Gray and Elfman.

Jellal shrugged, "I don't have a comment for that. But I do think that they would look good together."

Gajeel looked at him in shock, "How could you say that?"

Gray shook his head as if to disagree with Gajeel. "I think Jellal's right. Remember, 13 years back, Elfman?"

Elfman nodded. "They were so close! It was a manly relationship!"

Gajeel interrupted them and said, "Wait, wait, and wait. Can you tell us about it? We were not there that time."

Gray explained, "We used to meet a lot 13 years ago. The first time Mira, Elf, Lisanna, Juvia, Lucy, Natsu and me met we were at Wendy's baby shower. I don't know whether Juvia, Lucy, Natsu and Lisanna remember about this, but Mira, Elf and I do. We met several times after that. During every time we had a reunion, Lucy and Natsu were always together. Talking, laughing, or holding hands. They were like best friends."

Jellal looked a little shocked when he heard this. He asked, "What happened? Did all of you had a sudden memory loss, and forgot about everything?"

Gray chuckled sadly and replied, "No, that's not the reason. You see, a year after Wendy's birth, my father passed away. He was funniest person ever, and best friends with Igneel. After his death, the entire group almost stopped meeting. We would visit the Dragneel's place and the Strauss's place. But we lost contact with the Heartfilias and Locksers. Natsu eventually forgot about Lucy, and moved on. His new best friend was me,"

Gray sneered, and continued, "But I always thought that I could never replace Lucy. And when I came to know about this vacation, I was so happy that Natsu would get his best friend back." He spat. "What did I know that his best friend of years back, would become his enemy in school? And that wasn't the Lucy I knew when I first met her. She was fun, and now…"

Gajeel completed the sentence for him. "She buried herself under a rock."

Jellal gave a sad smile. "Who thought that this story would be so sad? I'm sorry about your dad, Gray."

Gray gave a smile. "It's alright."

They didn't know someone was listening to them. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. "No, Gray. You were wrong. Only Natsu, Lucy and Juvia don't remember." She whispered.

Gray turned behind and saw Lisanna. He looked bewildered.

"I remember them being together as well in the past. That's why; I want them to be together now."

* * *

After Lisanna told them everything about her efforts to get them together, Gajeel shook his head and said, "You really think that these two will be in a relationship? Girl, they are like polar opposites. One is the baddest boy in our freakin' school and the other is the Student Council President who desperately tries to bring him down. You better give up, whitey."

Lisanna frowned at the name he gave him.

Gajeel continued, "It's best if you continue with Jerza."

Jellal asked in a puzzled tone, "What the heck is Jerza?"

Lisanna covered Gajeel's mouth. While he struggled, she smiled sweetly and said, "Oh, I think you heard wrong. He said _Jersey_. He wanted to _buy_ a _jersey_ for me, _right Gajeel_?"

She shot him a demonic look that rivaled her sister's. Gajeel nodded fervently. Lisanna smiled gave a very bittersweet smile. " _Good_. So, why don't we go to the resort, and see if we could find a jersey?" Gray snickered at Gajeel's discomfort.

Lisanna raced downstairs and yelled to the others. "GET READY! WE ARE GOING TO THE RESORT TO HAVE SOME FUN!"

Lucy deadpanned. "You could have said that without shattering our eardrums."

Juvia muttered, "Juvia agrees with you."

* * *

Soon, the youngsters were outside the beach house and on their way to the resort. Wendy asked curiously, "Lisa-nee, what are we going to do today? Have you planned anything?"

Lisanna shrugged, "Nope. I just decided to go to the resort as a change of subject."

Natsu asked, "Change of subject for what?"

Gray started laughing nervously and shook his head. He said, "Nothing very interesting, Flame-brain."

Natsu retorted, "OI! Who're you calling flame brain? I have gold for brains!"

Lucy snorted, "Then they wouldn't be called brains."

Natsu snapped, "What was that, Miss Prissy?"

Mira muttered, "Here they go again." Jellal agreed with her.

Erza, for once, was not being her shy self when she was with Jellal. She replied, "I'll do something about it."

She came between Natsu and Lucy, who were looking like they break each other's neck. She then pushed them apart so suddenly, both of them felt like their necks would definitely break.

Jellal, to everyone's surprise, applauded. He looked very happy. "That was great, Erza!"

Erza blushed and said, "Th-thanks."

Mira smiled and whispered something to Lisanna. Lucy gulped and muttered to Juvia, "I have a feeling that there will be some matchmaking tonight, too."

Juvia nodded and gulped, too.

* * *

"Umm…Lisanna?" Lucy asked when they stepped out of a clothes shop.

Lisanna whipped her head and said, "Yes, Lucy?"

Lucy asked pointing to something in her hands, "Why did Gajeel buy you a jersey?"

Gajeel gulped when Lisanna shot him a look, and when she smiled at Lucy sweetly, Lucy swore that something bad must have happened to Gajeel. Lisanna replied to Lucy's answer, "Oh, Gajeel lost a bet and was forced to buy this for me. _Right, Gajeel?"_ Gajeel nodded fervently.

Jellal said in a puzzled voice, "That's not what happened…"

Gray laughed nervously and said, "Oh come on bro, don't you remember?"

Jellal realized that there was something off and quickly realized the situation. "Oh…yeah, yeah, that's right."

Elfman also nodded vigorously. "Gajeel lost the bet to my little sis. Lisanna is a man!"

Mira, Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Juvia and Erza all had sweat drops after they heard this conversation.

Just when things were about to get more awkward, somebody from the shop called out, "Lu-Chan! Wait up!"

Lucy turned around and saw her best friends with bags full of shopping hurrying towards her.

"Levy! Cana!" Lucy squealed.

Erza smiled. Mira asked, "Lucy, are these your friends?"

Lucy nodded. "My best friends."

Natsu snorted, "Isn't it amusing that one of your friends is the school geek? How typical."

Lucy whipped her head to retort something but somebody else did. "Shut up, Salamander." Gajeel said in a low, but dangerous voice.

By that time, Levy and Cana had come. Panting slightly, Levy threw her bags aside and hugged Lucy. "It's been so long, Lu-Chan!"

Lucy giggled and said, "Just ten days, Levy!"

Cana slurred, "'Sup, D-cups."

Lucy said in an embarrassed voice, "Of all the nicknames you could find, is this the best one?"

Cana nodded, "Yep! And it suits you! Oh, hey Erza!"

Erza waved and said, "Hi Levy and Cana. Long time no see."

Levy pulled away from Lucy. "Are these the family friends you were talking about on phone?"

Lucy nodded and introduced her best friends to her new friends. Lucy was grinning when she did it. Natsu had never seen her grin like that, ever. She looked nicer when she smiled. He shook his head to get rid of such thoughts. " _Bad, bad Natsu. Stop thinking such stuff!"_

But once she came to introduce Natsu, her grin dropped and she said, "This is Pinky."

Natsu reacted, "It's salmon, not pink!"

Lucy shrugged and said, "Fine. This is a type of fish, which I hate to eat."

Gray started laughing and said, "Dude, she got you good!"

Levy, however, had a different reaction. "OMG! LU-CHAN, IS THIS THE NATSU DRAGNEEL?!"

Lucy nodded with disgust.

Natsu swelled up. _"In your face, Heartfilia! Even your friends think I am cool!"_ Natsu almost yelled in his thoughts.

Cana nudged Lucy and whispered loudly, "Hey Lu, Have you tried hitting on him now that you aren't dressing conservatively?"

Lucy snorted and said, not bothering to keep her voice low, "Why would I try to hit on a buffoon? Anyways, this is Lisanna and Mirajane. And this is their brother Elfman."

Natsu felt his jaw drop. _"Who the heck is this bitch calling a buffoon?"_

But he felt his attention shift when he saw Lucy introduce Levy to Gajeel. Both Levy and Gajeel were blushing madly. Natsu smirked when he realized his cousin had a crush on someone so not his type. But something made his heart stop. Lucy was giggling, like literally giggling when she introduced Levy to Gajeel. _"Does she share my thoughts? Do we think alike? Wow, her laugh sounds like the tinkling of bells…No, no, no! Bad, horrible Natsu! Stop having such thoughts!"_

Natsu felt like slapping himself. Just then, Cana announced, "Hey, have you guys heard about this place where we can enjoy karaoke? It's on the fifth floor. We can rent a karaoke machine!"

Natsu almost thanked Cana for distracting him from his thoughts. Everyone agreed almost immediately and headed towards the fifth floor.

* * *

 **Another chapter done! Pretty short, and a little sad. And a little dose of GaLe! Levy and Cana arrive! Very disappointing, I know, but the next chapter's going to be really fun! Stay tuned on for Chapter 4: Karaoke Night! Leave a review!**

 **~Tia**


	5. Chapter 5: Karaoke Night

**VACATION DISASTER**

Chapter Five

Karaoke Night

 **Hey Readers,**

 **Sorry for the slightly late update! My laptop was out of commission, so it took a while for it to recover. I hope you like this chapter too.**

 **~Tia**

 **P.S: The songs below are:**

 **How Far I'll Go by Alessia Cara**

 **Talking to The Moon by Bruno Mars**

 **Handclap by Fitz and the Tantrums**

 **Let it Go by Idina Menzel**

 **Scared to Be Lonely by Martin Garrix & Dua Lipa **

**Talk Dirty to Me by Jason** **Derula**

 **It Took Me By Surprise by Maria Mena**

 **I'm Not The One by 3OH!3**

 **Tip: Watch the video on You Tube called AMV Fairy Tail {Jerza} Talking to the Moon. Really suits the mood!**

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, but I do own this fanfiction.**_

* * *

They all followed Cana to the karaoke place. When she opened the door, they all heard a blast of music. Cana yelled, "Yay! We're here!"

Two men running the place turned around and saw Cana. "Wakaba, look it's Cana with some friends!" A guy with dark hair exclaimed.

Cana waved and said to the rest of the group, "That's Macao and Wakaba." She turned to Macao and Wakaba and told them that they wanted to rent a karaoke machine.

Not only they gave them a room to enjoy, they also gave them a discount.

Cana turned to the group and said, "How about we play girls versus boys? We'll do group songs, duets and solos!" Everyone agreed to the idea.

First up was Levy and Wendy. They selected Wendy's favorite song: How Far I'll Go

 _Wendy: I have been standing at the edge of the water, for as long as I can remember, never really knowing why._

 _Levy: I wish, I could be the perfect daughter, but I come back to the water no matter how hard I try_

 _Wendy: Every turn I take, Every trail I track, Every path I make, every road leads back to the_ p _lace I know where I cannot go, where I long to be…_

 _ **Both: See the light where the sky meets the sea, it calls me…**_

 _ **And no one knows how far it goes…**_

 _ **If the wind and my sail on the sea stays behind me,**_

 _ **One day I'll know,**_

 _ **If I go, there's no telling how far I'll go.**_

They received clapping when they were done. Next up was Jellal. He went to sing a song selected by Lisanna and Mirajane. When he saw the song was Talking to The Moon, and saw that he was forced to point at Erza, he refused. Mira then gave him a demonic look. He went and sung, blushing madly.

 _I know you're somewhere out there_

 _Somewhere far away,_

 _I want you back, I want you back_

 _My neighbors think that I'm crazy,_

 _But they don't understand_

 _You're all I have, you're all I have_

 _At night when the stars light up my room,_

 _I sit by myself…_

 _Talking to the moon,_

 _Trying to get to you,_

 _In hopes that you're on the other side talking to me_

 _Or I am a fool, who sits alone, talking to the moon?_

Erza was being teased by the girls endlessly. She blushed madly too.

 _I'm feeling like I'm famous,_

 _The talk of the town,_

 _They say that I've gone mad,_

 _Yeah, I've gone mad_

 _But they don't know what I know_

 _Cause when the sun goes down someone's talking back_

 _Yeah, they're talking back too, oh_

 _At night, when the stars light up my room_

 _I sit by myself_

 _Talking to the moon,_

 _Trying to get to you_

 _In hopes that you're on the other side, talking to me too_

 _Or am I a fool, talking to the moon?_

The boys started whooping. They knew that Jellal was being serious. He had a crush on Erza ever since he saw her in college.

 _Do you ever hear me calling?_

 _(Ah) oh, oh, oh_

 _(Ah) oh, oh, oh_

 _Cause every night_

 _I'm talking to the moon_

 _Still trying to get to you_

 _In hopes you're on the other side talking to me too_

 _Or am I a fool, talking to the moon?_

 _I know you're somewhere out there_

 _Somewhere far away_

When he was done, he did something surprising. He went up to Erza and asked her, "Erza…I like you…so…umm…will you…will you go out with me?"

Erza's face turned to the color of hair. Cana hollered, "Quit to the lovey-dovey crap and just say Yes!"

Erza gave Cana a punch and stuttered, "Y-yes, I l-like you too, so yes I will go out with you."

The group cheered, "Finally!"

Cana interrupted them when they were about to kiss and said, "Get another room for sucking face. We want to continue with the karaoke." Jellal and Erza blushed.

Gajeel decided to sing one of his favorite songs: Handclap.

 _Turn it up!_

 _Somebody save your soul cause you have sinning in the city I know_

 _Too many troubles, all these Lovers got you losing control_

 _You're like a drug to me, a luxury, my sugar and gold_

 _I want the good life, every good night you're hard one to hold_

Everyone put their earplugs in their ears for they knew where this would go. Gajeel singing was like Giant from Doraemon singing. Luckily for them, Gajeel was too mesmerized in his song to see that they had put earplugs.

 _Cause you don't even know_

 _I can make your hands clap_

 _Said I can make your hands clap_

 _Somebody save your soul cause you have been sinning in this city, I know_

 _Too many troubles, these lovers got you out of control_

 _You're like a drug to me, my sugar and gold_

 _I want your sex and your affection when they are holding you close_

 _Cause you don't even know_

 _I can make your hands clap_

 _Said I can make your hands clap_

 _Every night when the stars come out_

 _Am I the only soul living around?_

 _Need to believe that you could hold me down_

 _Cause I am in need of something good right now_

 _We could be screaming till the sun comes out_

 _And when we'd wake up we'll be the only sound_

 _Get on my knees and say a prayer to James Brown_

 _That I can make your hands clap(x2)_

 _(Turn it UP!)_

 _That I can make your hands clap_

All of them cheered and danced with earplugs in their ears. Unfortunately for Levy and Lucy, they didn't have any earplugs. Levy didn't mind Gajeel's singing. She found herself getting hypnotized by his red eyes.

Lucy's ears were bleeding. _What kind of music was this?_ She shut her eyes tight for some unknown reason.

She suddenly felt someone putting earplugs in her ears, thus covering up the horrid noise coming from Gajeel's mouth and guitar. She opened her eyes and saw that there was no one next to her, except Levy. She wondered who did it.

* * *

Next up was Cana and Erza. They sang an awkward duet on Let it Go from Frozen, requested by Wendy. Cana groaned, but gave in when Wendy gave her the puppy eyes look.

 _Erza: The snow glows white on the mountain tonight_

 _Not a footprint to be seen_

 _A kingdom of isolation_

 _And it looks like I'm the queen_

 _The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside_

 _Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried_

 _Cana: Don't let them in,_

 _Don't let them see_

 _Be the good girl you always have to be_

 _Conceal don't feel,_

 _Don't let them know_

 _Well, now they know_

 _Cana: Let it go!_

 _Erza: Let it go!_

 _ **Both: Can't hold it back anymore**_

 _Cana: Let it go!_

 _Erza: Let it go!_

 _ **Both: Turn away and slam the door**_

 _Erza: I don't care, what they're going to say_

 _Cana: Let the storm rage on_

 ** _Both: The cold never bothered me anyway_**

 _Erza: It's funny how some distance_

 _makes everything seem small_

 _And the fears that once controlled me_

 _Can't get to me at all!_

 _Cana: It's time to see, what I can do_

 _To test the limits and break through_

 _No right no wrong_

 _No rules for me_

 _I'm free!_

 _ **Both: Let it go!**_

 _ **Let it go!**_

 _ **I'm one with the wind and sky**_

 _ **Let it go!**_

 _ **Let it go!**_

 _ **You'll never see me cry!**_

 _Erza: Here I stand,_

 _Cana: And here I'll stay!_

 _ **Both: Let the storm rage on**_

 _Erza: My power flurries through the air into the ground_

 _Cana: My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around_

 _And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast_

 _Erza: I'm never going back, the past is in the past!_

 _Cana: Let it go!_

 _Let it go!_

 _And I'll rise like the break of dawn_

 _Erza: Let it go!_

 _Let it go!_

 _That perfect girl is gone_

 _Cana: Here I stand_

 _Erza: In the light of day_

 _ **Both: Let the storm rage on!**_

 _ **The cold never bothered me anyway**_

All of them clapped. Wendy clapped the hardest. Jellal was shocked to know that Erza could sing as well as she could fight. Cana always had a lovely voice. Next up were Juvia and Lisanna singing Scared to be Lonely by Martin Garrix and Dua Lipa.

 _Lisanna: It was great at the very start_

 _Hands on each other_

 _Couldn't stand to be far apart_

 _Closer the better_

 _Juvia: Now we're picking fights and slamming doors_

 _Magnifying all our flaws_

 _And I wonder why, wonder what for_

 _Why we keep coming back for more_

 _ **Both: Is it just our bodies?**_

 _ **Are we both losing our minds?**_

 _ **Is the only reason you're holding me tonight**_

' _ **Cause we're scared to be lonely?**_

 _ **Do we need somebody just to feel alright?**_

 _ **Is the only reason you're holding me to**_ _ **night**_

' _ **Cause we're scared to be lonely**_

 _Juvia: Too much time, losing track of us_

 _Where was the real?_

 _Undefined, spiraling out of touch_

 _Forgot how it feels_

 _Lisanna: All the messed up fights and slamming doors_

 _Magnifying all our flaws_

 _And I wonder why, wonder what for_

 _It's like we keep coming for more_

 _ **Both: Is it just our bodies?**_

 _ **Or are we losing our minds?**_

' _ **Cause we're scared to be lonely**_

 _ **Do we need somebody just to feel alright?**_

 _ **Is the only reason you're holding me tonight**_

' _ **Cause we're scared to be lonely**_

 _ **Scared to be lonely**_

Gray couldn't take his eyes of Juvia. She was dancing as well as singing. Her smile, her lovely blue eyes, her hair floating behind her, he seemed to like all of it. But it was her voice which enchanted him the most. Her voice sounded like an angel's when she sang.

Elfman shook him from his thoughts and told him something about something dirty. Before Gray knew it, he was singing Talk Dirty to Me with Elfman and Mirajane.

 _Gray: I'm in that flight that you get on, international_

 _First class seat on my lap girl, riding comfortable_

 _Elfman: 'Cause I know what the girl them need_

 _New York to Haiti_

 _I got lipstick stamps on my passport_

 _You make it hard to leave_

 _Mira: Been around the world, don't speak the language_

 _But your booty don't need explaining_

 _All I need explaining is_

 _When you talk dirty to me_

 _ **All: Talk dirty to me**_

 _ **Talk dirty to me**_

 _ **Talk dirty to me**_

 _ **Get jazzy on it**_

 _Elfman: You know the words to my songs_

 _No habla ingles_

 _Our conversation ain't long_

 _But you know what it is_

 _Mira: I know what girl them want_

 _London to Taiwan_

 _I got lipstick stamps on my passport_

 _I think I need a new one_

 _Gray: Been around the world, don't speak the language_

 _But your booty don't need explaining_

 _All I need to understand is_

 _When you talk dirty to me_

 _ **All: Talk dirty to me**_

 _ **Talk dirty to me**_

 _ **Talk dirty to me**_

"That was great, Mira-nee, Elf-nee and Gray!" Lisanna exclaimed.

Juvia murmured, "Wish Juvia got to sing along with Gray-sama."

Mira said thoughtfully, "Who hasn't got to sing?"

Levy exclaimed, "Lu-chan!"

Gajeel yelled, "Salamander!"

Lisanna's eyes started gleaming when she heard that. _"Perfect opportunity for NaLu! I'll choose Lucy's song! Let's see how Natsu responds to it!"_

Lucy, to Lisanna's surprise, didn't protest when she saw the song but actually smiled.

" _I can show my feelings in this song!"_ Lucy thought with an evil smile.

Gray gulped when he saw Lucy's smile. "Something tells me that today will end in a fight, too." He muttered to Juvia

Juvia nodded. "Juvia agrees with Gray-sama."

Lucy started her song which was It Took Me By Surprise.

 _I would react badly to the slightest hint of hesitance_

 _He'd bend awkwardly to suit my mood no word from his defense_

 _Pushed every little button,_

 _But the right one that would let me in_

 _I'd cry knowing how my tears_

 _Felt like acid on his skin_

 _Now he's afraid of me_

 _He's afraid of me_

 _It took me by surprise_

 _The hatred in his eyes_

 _I've pushed this man as far as he could go_

 _But he lacked the words to let me know_

 _He acted out_

 _Now I can see it is his fault_

Natsu understood where this song was going. Lucy had purposely changed the lyrics from 'Now I can see it is my fault' to 'Now I can see it is his fault'. Was he really that mean to her?

 _I made changes that went unnoticed_

 _Sang songs for deaf ears too_

 _He mistook my silence for punishment_

 _As it had been for all these years_

 _I'd cry knowing how my tears felt like acid burning through his skin_

 _Now he's afraid of me,_

 _He's afraid of me_

 _It took me by surprise,_

 _The hatred in his eyes,_

 _I've pushed this man as far as he could go_

 _But he lacked the words to let me know_

 _He acted out and I-_

 _It took me by surprise_

 _The hatred in his eyes_

 _I've pushed this man as far as he could go_

 _But he lacked the words to let me know_

 _He acted out, and I can see it is his fault_

Gajeel exclaimed, "Wow! Bunny girl can sing!"  
Erza retorted, "Of course she can, you idiot! And Lucy sings well too!"

Wendy cheered, "Wow! That was awesome, Lucy-nee!"  
Levy and Lisanna both said, "Way to go, Lu-Chan!"

Gray and Jellal said, "That was pretty good!"  
Juvia cheered, "You sing well, Lucy!"

Mira had tears in her eyes while Elfman commented, "That was very manly Lucy!"

Natsu just sat in the corner, mulling over the lyrics. He had to prove it to her he wasn't the mean guy as she displayed him in the lyrics of the song. Yes, he was proud of the title he had given himself: The Baddest Boy of Fairy Tail. But was he really the baddest boy? Was he a bad boy? He just called himself that to make himself look cool feared. He almost laughed at himself. He couldn't believe that he was such a fool.  
He looked at Lucy again. And then all memories started pouring into his mind. Lucy. His forgotten childhood friend.

* * *

" _Natsu, come inside! It's pouring!" Grandeeney called her son out._

 _The little boy just sat on the grass in the rain. His soccer team lost because of him. Just because he couldn't score one goal._

" _Natsu! Everyone's here! Don't you want to meet them? Even Wendy's missing you!"_

 _Wendy, his baby sister. What did she know about missing people?_

 _Grandeeney sighed and turned to Layla. "He isn't coming."_

 _Gray who was watching Natsu gave a huff. "Well, he deserves it. We lost the game because of him."_

" _Gray!" Mika shouted._

 _Lisanna sighed and looked at her friend eating the treacle tart. "He shouldn't get so depressed." The little girl looked up and tore her eyes away from the tart._

" _I'll do something about it."_

 _She marched out with an umbrella and a plate with the tart. She walked straight up to the boy._

" _Hey Natsu."_

 _He turned to look at his best friend and gave a small smile._

" _Hey Luce."_

 _She sat down on the wet grass, not bothered that it would ruin her pink dress. She covered Natsu with the umbrella and offered him the tart._

 _She didn't say anything, didn't scold him for performing so badly, or consoled him. She just sat there, giving him company. Natsu picked up the spoon and poked at the tart. She smiled and shared the tart with him._

 _A little while later she said, "Coming in?"_

 _Natsu nodded. He followed her inside. Gray pissed him off as usual, and they got into a fight. While Elfman and Lisanna were shaking their heads in a disapproving manner, Lucy and Juvia cheered both of them. Mira stood there, smirking. She would challenge the winner to a fight, which she would win, of course. Finally, the two of them were separated by Igneel and Silver._

 _When Layla decided that it was time she and her daughter leave, she bid farewell to everyone. Natsu looked upset that his best friend was leaving. She gave him a cheery wave and said, "We'll meet next time, Natsu. Don't sit and mope, or I'll give you a kick."  
Natsu grinned and said, "Bye Luce. See you next time."_

 _She walked out of the door, her golden hair flowing behind her. What did he know that it would be a long time the next time he saw her?_

 _Their next time never came. A few months later, Gray's father Silver passed away due to cancer._

* * *

Natsu chose his song. This song would prove it to her that what he thought.

Lisanna waited in excitement to see the drama unfold.

 _You're way too young to be broken_

 _You're way too young to fall apart_

 _You're way too young to play these games_

 _But you better start, but you better start_

 _This is when it starts,_

 _From the beating of your heart_

' _Til the streetlamps talk to you_

 _Jumpin' off of the edge_

 _You're asleep in your head_

 _Everything's turning dark to you_

 _I went to pick up the parts_

 _The doctor's hidin' the charts_

 _He won't let me see the side of you_

 _It's on the tip of my tongue_

 _You know you're way too young to have someone lie to you_

 _I'm not the one_

 _I'm not the one_

 _Who wants to hurt you_

 _I'm not the one_

 _I'm not the one_

 _Who wants to hurt you_

 _You better find somebody else_

 _And get a hold of yourself_

 _I'm not the one_

 _I'm not the one_

 _Who wants to hurt you_

Lucy's eyes grew wide. She got the message Natsu was trying to give to her.

Lisanna beamed. Natsu had chosen a better song than what she had excepted of him.

 _You're way too young to be broken  
You're way too young to fall apart  
You're way too young to play these games  
But you better start  
But you better start_

 _It was the second I lit  
It was your first cigarette  
I forget who you used to be  
And I bit my lip the second you sipped  
The poison that was mixed for me_

 _I'm not the one  
I'm not the one  
Who wants to hurt you  
I'm not the one  
I'm not the one  
Who wants to hurt you  
You better find somebody else  
And get a hold of yourself  
I'm not the one  
I'm not the one  
Who wants to hurt you_

Gray smiled. He knew what Natsu was trying to do. He silently thanked Lisanna for coming up with such a plan.

 _Drink the poison lightly  
'Cause there are deeper and darker things than you  
I know, 'cause I've been there too_

 _I know it must seem frightening  
To have the world fall apart right under your shoes  
Trust me, you'll make it through_

 _I'm not the one  
I'm not the one  
Who wants to hurt you  
I'm not the one  
I'm not the one  
Who wants to hurt you  
You better find somebody else  
And get a hold of yourself_

 _I'm not the one  
I'm not the one  
Who wants to hurt you_

 _I'm not the one  
I'm not the one  
Who wants to hurt you _

_I'm not the one_

 _I'm not the one_

 _Who wants to hurt you_

 _I'm not the one_

 _I'm not the one_

 _Who wants to hurt you_

Natsu panted when he was done. It was a pretty long song. He was glad that it was over. All the boys cheered when he was done.  
Erza actually complimented him. Levy was also smiling. Cana said in a snide voice, "Was that to impress Lucy?"  
Natsu blushed and looked away.

Gajeel smirked and whispered to Jellal, "Looks like someone is in L-O-V-E." Jellal smirked too.

They didn't realize, among their singing and laughing, someone had entered their room and was sneering at them. Until that person started speaking.

"Look who's here. President Lucy Heartfilia and Football Captain Natsu Dragneel."

All of them turned to see the owner of the rude voice. Lucy gasped when she saw who that person was.

"Why aren't you…"

* * *

 **Cliffhanger!**

 **Well, almost. There is a poll concerning this. Unless you vote, I can't decide. Go to my profile page and you will find it. Hope you vote, and also leave a review!**

 **~Tia**


	6. Author's Note

**VACATION DISASTER**

Author's Note

Poll Time!

 **Hey readers!**

 **Sorry, but this isn't a chapter. The next chapter can be updated only if you vote for this poll on my profile. It shows a series of options for the following question:**

 **Who should act as the obstacle in Natsu's and Lucy's relationship?**

 **If you wish to vote, simply go to my profile page and you will find the poll waiting for you. This poll will last for a week. After it is closed, I will write my next chapter which will be posted as soon as it is done, that is, in two-three days.**

 _Please vote if you like this story and can't wait for the next update!_

 _Yours sincerely,_

 _TitaniaTia._

 ** _P.S: Check out the new cover image! It's from Pinterest!_**


	7. Chapter 6: Challenge!

**VACATION DISASTER**

Chapter Six

Challenge

* * *

 **Hey readers!**

 **Here's the new chapter! Thanks for polling! And the obstacle turns out to be a blessing in disguise…**

* * *

 _ **Summary: Wait and watch how things take a huge turn in Natsu's and Lucy's lives when a familiar enemy challenges them to do an unusual task!**_

* * *

 _ **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail, but I do own this fanfiction.**_

* * *

"Hey, aren't you Sting Eucliffe, President of Sabertooth?" Lucy asked.

"Aren't you Sting Eucliffe, Football Captain of Sabertooth?" Natsu practically spat.

The person, who looked as old as them, had spiky blonde hair and blue eyes. He had such looks that any girl with hormones would immediately lose her heart to him. Sting Euciffe was a heartthrob, which everyone in the room could make out. Other than being handsome, he was excellent in sports and studies, and known to be a gentleman. He would have fit very well into Lucy's vision of Mr. Perfect, except for a tiny issue.

Sabertooth Academy & College and Fairy Tail High School & Junior College were rivals.

Sting nodded lazily. "Yeah, yeah. It's Sting Eucliffe. Thanks for telling me my name."

"Well, if you don't mind Eucliffe, we are all in a very good mood. Would you mind leaving us? 'Cause we don't want to get our mood spoilt." Natsu scowled and said. To her surprise, Lucy found herself laughing.

"Lovely language, Dragneel. I thought I would hear some very colorful words streaming out of your mouth like it did last time we had a match. I was deeply heartbroken." Sting said in a tone which suggested deep sorrow.

"Quit with all the niceties. You do realize that you sound like a gay person, don't you?" Lucy snorted.

Sting frowned. "I am not gay, for your information President Heartfilia. My, my. If it hadn't been for your blonde hair, I wouldn't have recognized you and have thought that it was some slut singing that song which you just did." Sting said with a smirk.

"Don't you dare call my sister a slut!" Erza bellowed.

"Yeah!" Lisanna agreed.

Suddenly, they heard a voice calling out Sting's name. "Sting, where are you?"

The voice grew louder as the person had come closer to the room.

"There you are, Sting. Rogue and I have been looking for you for ages." A girl with hair almost the same color and style like Lisanna entered the room.

She saw everyone present in the room. Her eyes landed on Lucy and she gave a soft smile. She went close to Sting and tried to pull him out of the room. He gave her a frown and said "Let go Yukino."

She gave a pout and said "No. I won't. And what have you been doing here?"

"I thought I smelt scum so I came here." Sting sneered.

" _Am I the only one who wants peace?"_ Yukino sighed and thought.

"OI! Who're you calling scum? And, what the hell is your business with us?" Natsu retorted.

"Oh my, don't tell me you don't even know the reason why your school sent you here?" Sting said looking smug.

"What the hell are you talking about, shit-face? We are here on vacation, not some school errand." Natsu said in a confused voice.

"So your school didn't even receive the letter? How pathetic!" A new voice said.

It was a woman with long black hair which was tied into two buns. It made her look a bit like a panda. She was accompanied by a black-haired boy, who looked around the same age as Sting. He looked just like Yukino: half-exasperated and half-tired with the rivalry.

"Oh, Lady Minerva!" Sting and Yukino exclaimed.

" _Lady?"_ Lucy asked Levy in a whisper. Levy whispered back. "At Sabertooth, the students address their teachers as 'ladies' or 'sirs'."

"Oh, I see."

"I can't believe how your school didn't receive the letter! That means that even the competition holders think that you don't have the ability to take part!" Minerva sneered.

"It would do us good if you tell us what your business is with us, or scram." Lucy said with a bittersweet smile.

Sting smirked and pulled a pamphlet out of his pocket. He handed it to Natsu and Lucy. Lucy read it aloud. "Inter-School Couple Dance Competition…what the hell?"

Natsu continued reading it. "We welcome all the schools of Fiore to take part in this competition. A couple will represent each school. There will be only one round. You can choose any dance category and any song of your choice. Time limit is 5 minutes. Venue: Akane Beach Resort. Day of Competition: 21st December, Sunday…But that's a week away! How did we not receive this pamphlet?"

Lucy slapped her forehead. "It must have been given on the last day of school! The day I took a leave to help Mom with the packing! And obviously the Vice-President didn't tell me!" She practically whined.

Levy asked "So, whose gonna participate from our side?"

Sting then smirked and intervened. "While you were all whining about this piece of news, I have already enrolled the couple from your school."

"WHAT!" Everyone from Fairy Tail yelled.

"Yes, and it's gonna be none other than President Heartfilia and Captain Dragneel."

"WHAT!" Natsu and Lucy yelled.

"But I don't know how to dance!" "I don't wanna dance!" "Especially not with him!" "Hey, I'm not that bad!" "That is not the problem right now, Pinky!"

Nobody could make out who said what. And Natsu and Lucy didn't care. They were too busy, until Sting interrupted them.

"Also, I was very interested in the song President Heartfilia sang. So, I have submitted the song to the authorities. You are going to dance on that song."

Lucy and Natsu looked like they had run out of words to say.

Sting continued, but this time he had a devilish smirk on his face. "If you fail to win, or back out of the competition, I get to do anything I wish to do with President Heartfilia."

Utter silence followed that statement. Yukino looked like she was going to cry. Rogue looked simply horrified at what his friend had said. Minerva was chuckling appreciatively.  
Erza looked like she could break something, if Jellal hadn't been holding her back. "Why you…" Levy, Cana, Lisanna and Mirajane looked like they could have launched an attack on something. Gray, Elfman and Gajeel looked infuriated. But none of their reactions was anything compared to Natsu's. Anger seemed to be vibrating from every fibre of his body. "How dare you…how dare you…" He was seething with rage.

"Hush, Natsu." A gentle hand fell on Natsu's shoulder. Natsu turned around and saw Lucy smiling. Something about her smile filled him with hope, but to Sting it looked like the devil himself had descended in female form and smiling at him.

"If you wanna play like that, fine by me. I'm doing this for Fairy Tail, my family. And to keep my family's pride, I will take part in this competition whether I know how to dance or not. I accept your challenge, Sting Eucliffe of Sabertooth. I will see you in the auditorium of Akane in one week. Good luck to you. C'mon guys, let's leave. I hate it when nasty people are around me. It feels like a nasty stench to me."

Lucy pulled Natsu by the hand and left the room. The others followed her out. Soon, only the Sabertooth gang was left behind.

"You know Sting, I expected better of you. Lucy is a good person. The fairies aren't bad. I don't understand why you had to set such a challenge for them." Rogue said with disapproval in his voice. Yukino had no words to say. She simply said in an unnaturally high voice "Well, I must get going. Gotta go to my room and prepare for some more steps. We'll rehearse tomorrow Sting."

Rogue followed her out of the karaoke room. Minerva said "Don't mind them, Sting. What you did was correct." She too left the room.

Sting was the only one left in the room.

"Stupid Natsu. Can't confess. I'm sorry that I had to go into extremes." Sting murmured. But then he smirked. "But, who can't resist a body like Lucy's?"

* * *

"I swear I would've broken every single one of his bones if you had let me go, Jellal! He totally deserved it, please don't tell me that I would cause a scene! It's my sister he's talking shit about!" Erza went on yelling. They were in the girls' room as it was slightly bigger than the boys' room and could accommodate more people.  
"I agree with Jellal. It wouldn't have been right to cause a scene in a place like the karaoke bar." Levy said.

"Anyways, it's getting late. Levy and I better get back to our room in the resort. Take care, the rest of you." Cana said.

"How long are you guys gonna stay in Akane?" Lisanna asked.

" Until Christmas. After I won that lottery, I thought now that I have an extra ticket, why not invite Levy along! Plus we could meet D-cups. Say, D-cups, why are you so quiet?" Cana asked.

"Hush, Cana. Let her be. She needs some alone time." Said Mirajane.

Lucy was sitting in the corner quietly. She was mulling over the things that happened earlier that day. Almost everyone had left the room to go grab some dinner. She felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She looked up. It was Natsu. He gave her a small smile.

"Starvin' ain't gonna help you in the competition. Come along, Luce." He said.

"Luce?" She asked with an eyebrow raised.

"It's a little nickname I came up with. I think it suits you." He said and flashed a heartwarming grin.

" _Adorable…no! Bad Lucy! He's not adorable! He's a jerk!"_

"Oh, okay." That was all that came out her mouth.

He grabbed her hand suddenly and ran out with her towards the hall.  
She didn't know why, but to Lucy, his touch felt so heartwarmingly familiar. And she was happy that _he_ was holding her hand, and not some other guy.

Lucy Heartfilia hated admitting to herself, but it felt to her that she had found a little bit of her Mr. Perfect in Natsu Dragneel. And it wasn't his lovely eyes. It was his heart of gold.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap!**

 **Hope you guys liked this! If you like it, fav it! If you want more, follow it! And if you loved it, don't forget to leave a review!**

 **~Tia**

 **P.S: I'm letting you guys enjoy a spoiler.**

* * *

"We need your help Erza! Please tutor us, Erza and Jellal!"

"Alright, but you must know, dance isn't all about steps, it is about your feelings. And this song potrays feelings very strongly."

"Ugh…Luce, you dance like some doll with a key to wind her up!"

"At least you dance a little gracefully, when I dance like some idiot…"

"Cheer up! We can do this, Luce!"

* * *

 _Leave a lovely review!_


	8. Chapter 7: Jerza trains Nalu!

**VACATION DISASTER**

* * *

Chapter Seven

* * *

Jerza trains Nalu

* * *

Previously:

" _Luce?" She asked with an eyebrow raised._

" _It's a little nickname I came up with. I think it suits you." He said and flashed a heartwarming grin._

"Adorable…no! Bad Lucy! He's not adorable! He's a jerk!"

" _Oh, okay." That was all that came out her mouth._

 _He grabbed her hand suddenly and ran out with her towards the hall.  
She didn't know why, but to Lucy, his touch felt so heartwarmingly familiar. And she was happy that he was holding her hand, and not some other guy._

 _Lucy Heartfilia hated admitting to herself, but it felt to her that she had found a little bit of her Mr. Perfect in Natsu Dragneel. And it wasn't his lovely eyes. It was his heart of gold._

* * *

The next day, Natsu and Lucy were sitting in the balcony after breakfast, their heads in their hands.

"Hey Natsu, do you know how to dance?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah. I do. Lisanna taught me how to when I was twelve." Natsu said. This aroused Lucy's curiosity. She couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy.

Natsu woke her up from her thoughts by asking "Say Luce, do you know anyone who can teach us how to dance as a couple in a week?"

Lucy racked her brains for an answer to this question. Suddenly, she got a memory of a scarlet-haired girl in her early teens dancing ballet in front of an audience.

"Hey Natsu, do you mind being taught by a demon?"

At the same time, Natsu said "Hey Luce, do you mind being taught by a pervert?"

* * *

In the girls' room, Lucy was on her knees in front of a scarlet-haired beauty, who had a plate of her favorite: strawberry cheesecake. (Given to her by a certain miserly President)

"Erza, I beg you, please teach me how to dance! You're the best one out there!"

Erza kept a finger on her lips and said "Let me think about it…perhaps if I get another strawberry cheesecake…"

Lucy paled. Erza laughed and said "It's okay, you didn't need to get me strawberry cake, anyways! I would have helped you anyways! But I can be pretty hard on you, are you ready to take the challenge of accepting me as your tutor?"

Lucy nodded fervently. Erza smiled and said "But I can't teach the male part, however talented I may be. About Natsu, you'll have to find someone else…" Lucy interrupted her.

"Oh, don't worry about it. Natsu is already asking Jellal for help."

Silence followed that statement.

"WHAT!"

A scarlet haired beauty was lying on the floor, with hearts in her eyes, while two white-haired beauties were squealing "Jerza will train Nalu! Oh my god, I just can't…"

Juvia, Wendy and Lucy had sweat drops.

* * *

In the boys' room, Natsu was standing in front of Jellal. His hands were folded.

"Listen up, Jelly, you're going to teach me and Lucy how to fight, or else I'll tell Erza everything about the Kagura business."

Jellal paled and looked like he could evaporate. "But…b-but that was just a month ago…and it was an a-accident…not my fault she t-tripped fell on me and s-smooched…" He stammered.

"Doesn't matter. Erza won't listen to excuses. So, are you going to do it or not?" Natsu said least bothered by Jellal's stammers.

"I'M IN!"

"Wasn't that easy…" Gajeel commented.

Gray agreed.

* * *

They had decided to practice in the spare room left in the house, probably for storing some extra food or grills. Erza was already there, and Jellal had just arrived. Lucy was first to report for practice, of course. ( _Just like the President!_ )

Erza said impatiently "Natsu's late!"  
Lucy said patiently "I'll go call him."

She ran up the stairs and went to the boys' room. This was the first time she had been there. She nervously knocked on the door. When nobody answered she opened it. What she saw sent her heart racing. It was Natsu, shirtless sitting alone with a guitar, strumming it. He seemed too mesmerized to notice that someone had entered. He was playing the song Symphony.  
Lucy couldn't control herself. It was one of her favorite songs and she just loved the way Natsu played it. She suddenly started singing it when it reached the chorus.

 _And now your song is on repeat  
And I'm dancin' on to your heartbeat  
And when you're gone, I feel incomplete  
So if you want the truth_

 _I just wanna be part of your symphony  
Will you hold me tight and not let go?  
Symphony  
Like a love song on the radio  
Will you hold me tight and not let go_

 _Ah, ah, ah, ah-ah-ah, ah, ah, ah  
Ah, ah, ah, ah-ah-ah, ah, ah, ah_

 _And now your song is on repeat_  
 _And I'm dancin' on, to your heartbeat_  
 _And when you're gone, I feel incomplete_  
 _So if you want the truth (oh)_

 _I just wanna be part of your symphony_ _  
Will you hold me tight and not let go?  
Symphony  
Like a love song on the radio  
Symphony  
Will you hold me tight and not let go?  
Symphony  
Like a love song on the radio  
Will you hold me tight and not let go?_

Through out the song, Natsu did not interrupt her. He just played along with her, with a soft smile playing on his lips. When it was done, they heard a demon call them out "OI! I SENT YOU UP THERE TO GET THE IDIOT! NOT TO SING ALONG WITH HIM!"

Natsu grinned and said "She's one of a kind, that cousin of yours." Lucy giggled. He slipped a shirt on his back and went downstairs along with Lucy.

* * *

"Now, the first thing we need to decide on which kind of dance we need to dance on this song. I have no ideas, as this is a kind of song which is hard to explain in a dance." Erza said thoughtfully.

"But I can come up with a story which suits the song. Jellal, based on that, can you pick a dance form most suited to it?" Jellal nodded.

Erza continued saying "Okay, so it is going to be like this…the entire dance is going to be about a girl pining for her lover. Any objections?"

Natsu and Lucy opened their mouths to argue with the topic, but were silenced under the stony gaze of Erza. Jellal chuckled.

"Hmm…good topic Erza. I think the dance form most suited to it would be contemporary." Jellal suggested. Erza agreed.

"However, I think the beginning portion should be ballet." She said.

Natsu and Lucy just watched them with small smiles.

* * *

1 HOUR LATER:

"Lucy, you are dancing like a wind-up doll!" Erza said with a disapproval tone in her voice.

Jellal nodded. "Yes, Lucy, you need to let loose. You have to release your feelings in this dance form.

Lucy moaned "I'm only getting the ballet part right, but not the first part of the lyrics of the song. As for Natsu…"

What Lucy said was true. Natsu was a natural dancer. His hands and legs moved with grace, just like they did while they were fighting, but with a different kind of grace.

"Natsu, I'm very happy with your progress. After 2 hours, you may take a break." Erza said with approval.

Natsu dropped the water bottle he was holding.

"2 hours!"

"Yes, 2 hours. How would you expect us to teach you anything in 1 hour a day when the competition is less than a week away?" Jellal interjected.

Lucy had no comment. _'The more I practice, the better I'll get!'_ she thought.

* * *

After 2 hours, Lucy had got the hang of what was happening. But, something was still missing in her dance. And it was her emotions. She was in a sour mood the entire day. After dinner, she sat on the porch in a sulk. Natsu noticed this and came there too.

"What wrong? What's with the sulky pout?" He asked.

"I just can't get the dance right! And you on the other hand, dance so well…" She whined.

Natsu chuckled and startled Lucy with his reaction.

"Luce, you're okay just the way you are! I'm sure you'll get there soon! After all you are President Perfect, right?"

Lucy blushed when she saw Natsu giving her bright grin. "I'm not that perfect…" she murmured.

"Maybe not…but you're perfect for me." Saying that, Natsu gave her a kiss on the cheek.

And he left her blushing a million shades of red.

* * *

 ***bows down* Sorry, gomen ne, pardon, lo siento all my lovely readers!**

 **So sorry for the late update! Don't kill me! And I hope you liked this chapter! I had my unit tests in my school, and my school has selected me as one of the hosts of Independence Day Programme being held in my school, so I have been very busy! By the way, did you guys the last chapter of FairyTail? Ugh…stupid Mashima made almost all the important ships sail except for Nalu!**

 **I was so heartbroken! I hope you guys aren't heartbroken with my fanfic. Thank you so much reviewing, following and faving this fic!**

 **Love all of you!**

 **Also, keep leaving me reviews!  
~Tia **


	9. Chapter 8: Layla's Secret

**VACATION DISASTER**

* * *

Chapter Eight

* * *

Layla's Secret

* * *

Previously:

" _What wrong? What's with the sulky pout?" He asked._

" _I just can't get the dance right! And you on the other hand, dance so well…" She whined._

 _Natsu chuckled and startled Lucy with his reaction._

" _Luce, you're okay just the way you are! I'm sure you'll get there soon! After all you are President Perfect, right?"_

 _Lucy blushed when she saw Natsu giving her bright grin. "I'm not that perfect…" she murmured._

" _Maybe not…but you're perfect for me." Saying that, Natsu gave her a kiss on the cheek._

 _And he left her blushing a million shades of red._

* * *

Christmas was nearing, and so was the Inter-School Couple Dance Competition. Two days were left till day of the battle of the couples. Lucy was steadily improving, under Jellal's cautious training; Erza's beliefs that dance was all about 'fighting spirit' and Natsu's encouragement.

And like every Christmas Lucy had been through, her father wasn't there to spend it with her and Layla. Lucy sighed every time she thought of it during the practice session that day. Jellal thought that she was sighing due to her not achieving 'perfection' in dance. But Erza knew better. She didn't bring the topic up, and advised Jellal not to do so either.

But was she able to convince a hot-headed pink-haired narcissist? Of course not. Natsu made up his mind to ask Lucy what the matter was after the practice session.

"What's the matter _now_?" Natsu asked Lucy. She gave him a questioning look.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You've been down in the dumps through out the practice session. I'm not blind, Luce."

Lucy ignored him. She looked away.

"C'mon, spit it out, Luce." Natsu coaxed her.

"Ok! Fine! I'm down because my dad's never there with me! Never at home! Never for my birthday! But, he would always make it a point to come for Christmas. It was a family time festival. This year…he was so busy…he couldn't even…call me…or Mom." Lucy said with a sad smile.

Natsu remained silent.

"You know, I think I should go call him." Lucy said.

Again, there was no reply from him.

Lucy went to the girls' room to find for her phone. But she couldn't help wondering, why didn't the Natsu she knew, the one who would always have an answer for everyone, hadn't made any comment for whatever she told him.

* * *

She was on the porch, dialing her father's number on her mobile. She knew if he didn't pick up, it meant that it would be on silent mode, and that he was in a meeting. She knew that he could be busy on another call or that his phone could have been switched off. That's why she didn't call him.

But, now was the time to give it a try. It was Christmas, for Christ's sake!

She pressed the green button on her mobile and put the mobile to her ears. She waited in silence. Then it started ringing. _So his phone wasn't switched off or busy on another number._  
And to her amazement, somebody picked the phone up and answered her call. But when she heard who was speaking, her eyes grew wide.

"Lucy…?" Layla's voice came out from Jude's number.

* * *

"What is the meaning of this, Mom? Why do you have Dad's phone with you?"  
Lucy was in the women's room, with Layla standing in front of her. The other members of the room had tactfully melted out of sight.

Layla's face was pale, Lucy noticed after a long time. She was so busy with the preparation of the Dance Competition that she failed to notice her mother's behavior. It was strange and almost sad, for the past week. She had been looking older than usual.

Lucy questioned Layla again. "Mom, what's wrong…?"  
Layla looked up at Lucy and started speaking in a grave voice.

"Lucy…I'm sorry. I've hidden something from you."

"What do you mean, Mom?"

"A day before your birthday in November, I received a call from your Dad, who was currently in Sweden. He said that he had to travel to Germany by ship, to deliver some of the prized, top-rated goods by our company to a high-class company. There were two ships dispatched. One had the goods; the other held your father and his men. The goods ship reached Germany safely, but your father's ship which left after the goods ship was caught in a storm. The ship carrying your father…it…it…"

Layla's voice broke and tears started streaming out of her eyes. Lucy looked pale and she held her mother steady in her arms.

"W-what happened, Mom? Please don't tell me…"  
"IT SANK! THE SHIP CARRYING JUDE SANK!" Layla cried out.

Lucy's heart stopped beating for a moment.

"W-when…when…d-did you c-come t-to know?" Her voice shook slightly.

"Last week. The survivors gave me his phone which had survived. He had told them to flee, leave him while he was stuck in the barracks trying to rescue more of his men. He t-told them…t-to leave him. 'Take my phone,' he said…'There's something in it that I wanted to show my wife and daughter.'"

At this point Layla could speak no more. Neither could Lucy. Mother and daughter cried together. The daughter cried telling her mother that she couldn't be a good daughter; while her mother cried telling her daughter that she wasn't a good mother for hiding this fact from her daughter. The Heartfilias mourned that night for their lost member. Everyone in the house knew what had happened to Jude. Except Lucy. And that tormented her.

' _I'm not a good daughter…'_ She thought. She wondered why tears didn't fall from her eyes at all, when she was so sad.

* * *

Lucy opened up the folders in her father's phone.

" _Your father wanted you to read this on your birthday. After all, 17 is a milestone also. 1 year to go before you turn 18!" Layla said with a dry chuckle as she wiped a tear._

Lucy hesitatingly opened up the document containing her birthday present. It was a message from her father to her.

" _ **My dearest Lucy,**_

 _ **Happy Birthday! 17 years…a milestone indeed. Isn't this what your mother always said whenever you turned a year older? I'm sure she must have said it this time as well. I'm sorry that I couldn't turn up for your birthday. Work keeps me busy and I can't even call the two of you. All I have is a photo of you and Layla on my desk reminding me that I have a lovely wife and pretty daughter waiting for me back at home, so I should hurry and come back.  
Until now, you've done everything I've asked you to do, though I never do what your heart desires the most. Money means nothing to you, I have realized now. You never wanted any of those expensive dresses or jewels I gave to you for your previous birthdays. All you wanted was family time. Your mother, you and I spending time like a family. When was the last time we spent time together? I honestly don't remember. I think age is finally getting to me. **_

Lucy gave a small chuckle as her eyes welled up.

 _ **I just wanted you to know, you are the best gift I could have asked God from. You have been, and will always be, the brightest light in your mother's life and my life. You are perfect just the way you are, sweetheart. I'm so sorry I couldn't come for your birthday at all. Just remember sweetie, be yourself. I'm proud of you, just the way you are. You are a friend in need, a good leader, a cute sister, and the most important of all, a loving daughter. I hope you get what you want the most in the whole wide world. Love, wasn't it? Go find it, my child…**_

 _ **Love,**_

 _ **Your father, Jude.**_

Lucy couldn't control her tears any longer. This is what it was like losing a loved one. There were no words to describe what she was feeling. A surge of happiness seemed to fill her inside. Her father was a brave man. He died rescuing as many as lives he could. He had been a good father. _No, a loving father._

* * *

She sat on the porch, again. This time, she wasn't alone. A pink-haired boy was giving her company. She didn't realize, until he held her hand. He didn't say anything except "I heard about your old man."

He just held her hand. He didn't console her, knowing she hated pity. He didn't criticize her for sitting in the cold without a blanket, for she would definitely like hearing that now. He just sat next to her, and held her hand.

Then he broke the silence by holding a place out to her.

"Treacle tart?"

She looked at him with a smile. There it was…the smile. The knowing smile. She knew…she remembered.

"Sure." She said, and took the tart from him and poked a spoon into it. He smiled when he saw it.

"You okay?"  
"Yeah. Better, actually. I wasn't crying before. I wonder why."  
"You know Luce, just because you don't cry, doesn't mean you're not sad. It's actually worse. Bottling it all up. Let it out. You'll definitely feel better."  
"You know, Natsu. It actually worked. I let it out. And I'm feeling better."  
"That's good to hear."  
Silence followed.

And it was broken by a half-naked male, a red haired beauty and a cute little bluenette.

"You knew that Tabasco-freak could get sappy." Gray smirked and said.

"And this is the millionth time you are caught without a shirt, Gray. Put one on, dumbass!" Erza said and whacked his head. Wendy giggled. They all sat beside Lucy and Natsu. **(A/N: I know this is useless, but if you really want to know, this is the sequence they sat in: Gray, Wendy, Natsu, Lucy and Erza.)**

"Lucy, are you okay?" Erza and Wendy asked together.

"Yeah I am." Lucy said with a bright smile.

A little blue something came next to Lucy's legs. She gave a little cry of delight and said "Aww! Who's this adorable cat?"  
"That's Happy, the abnormal cat of the abnormal teenager." Gray said with a flat tone and straight face.

"Hey, my cat's not abnormal, and neither am I!" Natsu retorted.

Wendy and Lucy giggled.

They all sat there, retelling incidents of fun they had with their fathers, knowing that was exactly what Lucy wanted to hear. She wasn't like other people, who refused to hear about their loved ones after they left them. She smiled at each of the incidents. Erza, who had no 'father-daughter' incidents to share, shared some precious memories she had with her mother.

"Lucy, value your mother. She's the most important person in your life, trust me. Love her, and have lots of fun with her!"  
"I will, Erzy!"

Suddenly, Natsu grabbed Lucy's hand and said something with a bright smile that made Lucy's heart stop.

"Up for a song? Trust me, you'll like it!"

He grabbed his guitar and started playing one of his favorite songs. Coincidentally, it was also Lucy's favorite song.

 _Feeling my way through the darkness_ _  
_ _Guided by a beating heart_ _  
_ _I can't tell where the journey will end_ _  
_ _But I know where to start_ _  
_ _They tell me I'm too young to understand_ _  
_ _They say I'm caught up in a dream_ _  
_ _Well life will pass me by if I don't open up my eyes_ _  
_ _Well that's fine by me_

 _So wake me up when it's all over_ _  
_ _When I'm wiser and I'm older_ _  
_ _All this time I was finding myself_ _  
_ _And I didn't know_ _I was lost_ _  
_ _So wake me up when it's all over_ _  
_ _When I'm wiser and I'm older_ _  
_ _All this time I was finding myself_ _  
_ _And I didn't know_ _I was lost_

 _I tried carrying the weight of the world_ _  
_ _But I only have two hands_ _  
_ _I hope I get the chance to travel the world_ _  
_ _But I don't have any plans_ _  
_ _I wish that I could stay forever this young_ _  
_ _Not afraid to close my eyes_ _  
_ _Life's a game_ _made for everyone_ _  
_ _And love is the prize_ _  
_

 _So wake me up when it's all over_ _  
_ _When I'm wiser and I'm older_ _  
_ _All this time I was finding myself_ _  
_ _And I didn't know_ _I was lost_ _  
_ _So wake me up when it's all over_ _  
_ _When I'm wiser and I'm older_ _  
_ _All this time I was finding myself_ _  
_ _And I didn't know I was lost_

 _I didn't know I was lost  
I didn't know I was lost  
I didn't know I was lost  
I didn't know I was lost_

* * *

 **Okay, I know…**

 **I know…**

 **I know…**

 **I know very well that I love putting songs in this fan fiction. Gomen ne, but this is a kind of fiction, in which songs are suited very well with the situation! Yep, it's a musical! I know! I should have included it in the genre section, but romance and humor stood out the most. So I hope you liked this chapter. Leave a review if you want to leave some criticism, how you feel about this story, or whether you loved it! And if you want more, follow it! And if you liked it, give it a favorite!**

 **~Tia**


	10. Chapter 9: The ISCDC

**Hey guys! *dodges a bullet* This story has been beta-read by E. Rebellion! A shout out of thanks to her! Here's the new chapter!**

 **~Tia**

 **P.S: I wrote this while listening to Masayume Chasing!**

* * *

 **The INTER-SCHOOL Couples Dance Competition**

* * *

"We're here, Luce. You can open your eyes." Natsu said to his nervous partner. Lucy, who had been led by Natsu until they reached the resort, opened her eyes. She cringed when saw the auditorium and the huge audience.

"I knew I shouldn't have opened my damn eyes. Now I'm more nervous."

After a week of rigorous practice, Natsu and Lucy were at Akane for the competition. There were about 100 other schools performing. Unknown to the participants, there was a preliminary round in which only the judges watched them dance. From there, depending on what the judges thought, teams would be eliminated. They had one minute to impress the judges, and that was it.

When Lucy glanced at the announcement pinned on a nearby board, Lucy almost collapsed out of nervousness. "Natsu, our round is in two minutes!" She whispered.

"It's okay. We'll be okay, Luce." Natsu said, trying to comfort her.

Lucy took a deep breath. Natsu smiled, "Ready?"

"Yep! Let's do this!" She exclaimed.

After the preliminary round, only five schools would be left. The final round would be held in half an hour. In it, the judges, as well as the audience, would judge the dancers.

Mermaid Heel Girls' High School, Blue Pegasus Academy for Gentlemen and Ladies, Lamia Scale Preparatory School, Sabertooth Academy and Fairy Tail School & Junior College all made it to the finals.

Backstage, while all the duos were doing some last-minute practice, they were repeatedly disturbed by majorly concerned friends of a certain pair representing a school and college.

"LUCY! WE'LL BE CHEERING YOU ON!" Cana, Levy, Wendy and Juvia yelled.

"NATSU! KICK ASS!" Gajeel and Gray yelled.

"LUCY AND NATSU, BE MEN!" Elfman bellowed.

"Okay, that's enough you guys," Jellal said with a smile.  
Erza took Lucy aside. "Are you feeling okay?" She asked, concern lacing her voice.

"Kind of," Lucy said.

"It's okay. Just let your emotions flow, okay? This song is all about that. By the way, do you have feelings for…" Erza began to tease, but Lucy cut her short.

"Shut up!" She whispered.

"Okay, okay. Won't tell. But, my advice to you is this: if you let your emotions for your partner flow in this, your dance will shine through." Erza said, with sparkles in her eyes.

Lucy stifled a laugh. "Okay, Erza."

"Erzie-Wurzy!" An unknown voice called out to Erza. They turned to see that it was Milliana, the participant from Mermaid Heel Girls' High School.

"Milliana!" Erza exclaimed and hugged her. Lucy knew that they were childhood friends and decided to give them some time alone. She said a quick 'Hi' to Milliana and went to Levy and the others.

* * *

The final round had begun. The first performance was by Kagura and Milliana from Mermaid Heel Girls' High School. Natsu and Lucy closely observed their dance.

They danced pure jitterbug to the song 'Sit Still Look Pretty.'

 _Could dress up_  
 _To get love_  
 _But guess what?_  
 _I'm never gonna be that girl_  
 _Who's living in a Barbie world_

 _Could wake up_  
 _In makeup,_  
 _And play dumb_  
 _Pretending that I need a boy_  
 _Who's gonna treat me like a toy_

 _I know the other girlies wanna wear expensive things_  
 _Like diamond rings_  
 _But I don't wanna be the puppet that you're playing on a string_  
 _This queen don't need a king_

 _Oh, I don't know what you've been told_  
 _But this gal right here's gonna rule the world_  
 _Yeah, that is where I'm gonna be because I wanna be_  
 _No, I don't wanna sit still, look pretty_  
 _You get off on your 9 to 5_  
 _Dream of picket fences and trophy wives_  
 _But no, I'm never gonna be 'cause I don't wanna be_  
 _No, I don't wanna sit still look pretty_

 _Mr. Right could be nice for one night_  
 _But then he wanna take control_  
 _And I would rather fly solo_

 _That Snow White_  
 _She did right_  
 _In her life_  
 _Had 7 men to do the chores_  
 _'Cause that's not what a lady's for_

 _The only thing a boy's gonna give a girl for free's captivity_  
 _And I might love me some vanilla but I'm not that sugar sweet_  
 _Call me HBIC_

 _Oh, I don't know what you've been told_  
 _But this gal right here's gonna rule the world_  
 _Yeah, that is where I'm gonna be, because I wanna be_  
 _No, I don't wanna sit still, look pretty_  
 _You get off on your 9 to 5_  
 _Dream of picket fences and trophy wives_  
 _But no, I'm never gonna be, 'cause I don't wanna be_  
 _No, I don't wanna sit still look pretty_

 _[2x]_  
 _Sure, I'm a pretty girl_  
 _Up in a pretty world_  
 _But they say pretty hurts_  
 _And I don't wanna sit still_  
 _I'm a pretty girl_  
 _Up in a pretty world_  
 _But no, I won't sit still, look pretty_

 _Oh, I don't know what you've been told_  
 _But this gal right here's gonna rule the world_  
 _Yeah, that is where I'm gonna be because I wanna be_  
 _No, I don't wanna sit still, look pretty_  
 _You get off on your 9 to 5_  
 _Dream of picket fences and trophy wives_  
 _But no, I'm never gonna be 'cause I don't wanna be_  
 _No, I don't wanna sit still look pretty_

 _Oh, I don't know what you've been told_  
 _But this gal right here's gonna rule the world_  
 _Yeah, that is where I'm gonna be because I wanna be_  
 _No, I don't wanna sit still, look pretty_  
 _You get off on your 9 to 5_  
 _Dream of picket fences and trophy wives_  
 _But no, I'm never gonna be 'cause I don't wanna be_  
 _No, I don't wanna sit still, look pretty_

 _Sit still, look pretty_

 _[4x]_

"Tough competition, right?" Natsu asked with a pale face.

Lucy nodded dumbly. When Kagura and Milliana came backstage, Lucy warmly congratulated them. Kagura responded with a polite nod. Milliana gave Lucy a hug. "Thanks! All the best to you!" Milliana said with a wink.

The next two up surprised the blonde. They were representing Blue Pegasus Academy for Gentlemen & Ladies. And it was a gay couple. But that wasn't what gave Lucy a shock. The participants were twins, and one of them was definitely the guy they had encountered in the perfume shop.

"Sniff, sniff~" Ichiya sniffed. So did the other Ichiya.

"Let's fill the auditorium with our delish parfum~" "Man!"

Lucy and Natsu scurried a few meters away.

 _There! Right There!_  
 _Look at that tan, that tinted skin_  
 _Look at the killer shape he's in_  
 _Look at that slightly stubbly chin_  
 _Oh Please he's gay, totally gay_

 _I'm not about to celebrate_  
 _Every trait could indicate the totally straight expatriate._  
 _This guy's not gay, I say not gay_

 _That is the elephant in the room_  
 _Well, is it relevant to assume_  
 _that a man who wears perfume_  
 _is automatically matically fay?_

 _But look at his quoft and crispy locks_

 _Look at his silk translucent socks_

 _There's the eternal paradox_  
 _Look what we're seeing_

 _What are we seeing?_

 _Is he gay?_

 _Of course, he's gay_

 _Or European?_

 _ohhhhhh_

 _Gay or European?_  
 _It's hard to guarantee_  
 _Is he gay or European?_

 _Well, hey, don't look at me_

 _You see they bring their boys up different_  
 _in those charming foreign ports_  
 _They play peculiar sports_

 _In shiny shirts and tiny shorts_  
 _Gay or foreign fella?_  
 _The answer could take weeks_  
 _They will say things like "Ciao Bella,"_  
 _while they kiss you on both cheeks_

 _Oh please_

 _Gay or European?_  
 _So many shades of gray_  
 _Depending on the time of day_  
 _The French go either way_

 _Is he gay or European?_  
 _or-_

 _There! Right There!_  
 _Look at that condescending smirk_  
 _Seen it on every guy at work_  
 _That is a metro-hetro jerk_  
 _That guy's not gay, I say no way_

 _That is the elephant in the room_  
 _Well is it relevant to presume_  
 _that a hottie in that costume_

 _Is automatically, radically_  
 _Ironically, chronically_  
 _Scrutiny, certainly_  
 _Genetically, netically_  
 _Gay!_  
 _Officially Gay!_  
 _Officially Gay, Gay, Gay, Gay!_

 _Dammit!_

 _Gay or European?_  
 _So stylish and relaxed_  
 _Is he gay or European?_  
 _I think his chest is waxed_

 _But they bring their boys up different there_  
 _It's culturally diverse_  
 _It's not a fashion curse_

 _If he wears a kilt or bears a purse_  
 _Gay or just exotic?_  
 _I still can't crack the code_

 _Yet his accent is hypnotic_  
 _but his shoes are pointy-toed_

 _Huh_  
 _Gay or European?_  
 _So many shades of gray_  
 _But if he turns out straight_  
 _I'm free at 8 on Saturday_

 _Is he gay or European?_  
 _Gay or European?_  
 _Gay or Euro-_

 _(Jenny)_  
 _Wait a minute!_  
 _Give me a chance to crack this guy_  
 _I have an idea I'd like to try_

 _So Mr. Argitacos..._  
 _This alleged affair with Ms. Windam_  
 _has been going on for...?_

 _(Ichiya 1)_  
 _2 years_

 _(Jenny)_  
 _And your first name again is...?_

 _(Ichiya 1)_  
 _Nicos_

 _(Jenny)_  
 _And your boyfriend's name is...?_

 _(Ichiya 1)_  
 _Carlos_

 _I'm sorry! I misunderstand_  
 _You say boyfriend_  
 _I thought you say best friend_  
 _Carlos is my best friend_

 _(Ichiya 2)_  
 _You bastard!_  
 _You lying bastard!_  
 _That's it_  
 _I no cover for you, no more!_

 _Peoples_  
 _I have a big announcement_  
 _This man is gay and European!_  
 _you've got to stop your being_  
a completely closet case

 _No matter what he say_  
 _I sware he never ever ever swing the other way_  
 _You are so gay_  
 _You big parfait!_  
 _You flaming boy in cabaret_

 _(Ichiya 1)_  
 _I'm straight!_

 _(Ichiya 2)_  
 _You were not yesterday_

 _So if I may, I'm proud to say_  
 _He's gay!_

 _(All)_  
 _And European!_

 _(Ichiya 2)_  
 _He's gay!_

 _(All)_  
 _And European!_

 _(Ichiya 2)_  
 _He's gay!_

 _(All)_  
 _And European and Gay!_

 _(Ichiya 1)_  
 _Fine okay I'm gay!_

 _(All)_  
 _Hooray!_

 _(Ichiya 1 and 2)_  
 _Fine. Okay. We're gay!_

* * *

A/N: Check out Gay or European by the Legally Blonde cast!

* * *

"So, not so tough competition?" Natsu said with a grin.

"That was a dance? How did the judges select that? It was a bloody musical! And they even brought an extra person!" Lucy exclaimed. All Ichiya 1 and Ichiya 2 had done was twirl around on stage like a bunch of idiots.

Natsu just shook his head and laughed. "Time for the next dance, Luce."

The next dancers were from Lamia Scale Preparatory School. The Presidents of the High School and of the Middle School were dancing to the tunes of a combination of two songs: Despacito and Shelter, in hip-hop.

 _I could never find the right way to tell you_  
 _Have you noticed I've been gone?_  
 _'Cause I left behind the home that you made me_  
 _But I will carry it along_

 _And it's a long way forward, so trust in me_  
 _I'll give them shelter, like you've done for me_  
 _And I know, I'm not alone, you'll be watching over us_  
 _Until you're gone_

 _Come on over in my direction,_

 _So thankful for that,_

 _It's such a blessing, yeah_

 _Turn every situation into heaven, yeah_

 _(Oh, you are…)_

 _My sunrise on my darkest days_

 _Got me feeling some kind of way_

 _Make me savor every moment slowly, slowly_

 _You fit me in tailor-made love_

 _How you put it on,_

 _Got the only key, know how to turn it on,_

 _The way you nibble on my ear,_

 _the only words I wanna hear,_

 _Baby take it slow so that we can last long_

 _Tú, tú eres el imán y yo soy el metal_  
 _Me voy acercando y voy armando el plan_  
 _Sólo con pensarlo se acelera el pulso (oh, yeah)_

 _Ya, ya me estás gustando más de lo normal_  
 _Todos mis sentidos van pidiendo más_  
 _Esto hay que tomarlo sin ningún apuro_

 _Despacito_  
 _Quiero respirar tu cuello despacito_  
 _Deja que te diga cosas al oído_  
 _Para que te acuerdes si no estás conmigo_

 _Despacito_  
 _Quiero desnudarte a besos despacito_  
 _Firmar las paredes de tu laberinto_  
 _Y hacer de tu cuerpo todo un manuscrito_

 _(Shelter's music)_

 _And it's a long way forward, so trust in me_  
 _I'll give them shelter, like you've done for me_  
 _And I know, I'm not alone, you'll be watching over us_  
 _Until you're gone_

 _Oh it's a long way forward, trust in me_  
 _I'll give them shelter, like you've done for me_  
 _And I know, I'm not alone, you'll be watching over us_  
 _Until_

 _Despacito_  
 _This is how we do it down in Puerto Rico_  
 _I just wanna hear you screaming, "¡Ay, Bendito!"_  
 _I can move forever cuando esté contigo_  
 _¡Bailalo!_

 _Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito_  
 _Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito_  
 _Que le enseñes a mi boca_  
 _Tus lugares favoritos_  
 _(Favorito, favorito, baby)_  
 _Pasito a pasito, suave suavecito_  
 _Nos vamos pegando, poquito a poquito_  
 _Hasta provocar tus gritos_  
 _Y que olvides tu apellido_  
 _Despacito_

"Really tough competition." Lucy said, sweating heavily.

Natsu gave her a comforting pat back. "It's okay. It's okay."

"Is it?" A voice interrupted them. It was Sting, smirking at them.

"We're up next. Better keep your prayers ready."

Yukino was behind him. She looked down and had dark circles under her eyes. She looked at Lucy, put her finger to her lips and gave a thumbs-up. Lucy hid a smile.

 _'So there are kind-hearted people in Sabertooth, huh?'_ Thinking so, she returned the gesture.

They entered the stage. They also danced a duet in hip-hop and tango on a remix of Love me like you do and Shut up and Dance. They danced the tango when it was Love me like you do, and hip-hop when it was Shut up and Dance.

(Yukino):

 _You're the light, you're the night_  
 _You're the color of my blood_  
 _You're the cure, you're the pain_  
 _You're the only thing I wanna touch_  
 _Never knew that it could mean so much, so much_

 _You're the fear, I don't care_  
 _Cause I've never been so high_  
 _Follow me to the dark_  
 _Let me take you past our satellites_  
 _You can see the world you brought to life, to life_

(Sting):

 _Oh don't you dare look back_  
 _Just keep your eyes on me_  
 _I said you're holding back_  
 _She said shut up and dance with me_  
 _This woman is my destiny_  
 _She said oh oh oh_  
 _Shut up and dance with me_

(Both):

 _So love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do_  
 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do_  
 _Touch me like you do, ta-ta-touch me like you do_  
 _What are you waiting for?_

 _Fading in, fading out_  
 _On the edge of paradise_  
 _Every inch of your skin is a holy grail I've got to find_  
 _Only you can set my heart on fire, on fire_  
 _Yeah, I'll let you set the pace_  
 _Cause I'm not thinking straight_

 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do (like you do)_  
 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do_

 _Touch me like you do, ta-ta-touch me like you do_  
 _What are you waiting for?_

 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do (like you do)_  
 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do (yeah)_  
 _Touch me like you do, ta-ta-touch me like you do_  
 _What are you waiting for?_

(Sting):

 _She took my arm_  
 _I don't know how it happened_  
 _We took the floor and she said_

 _Oh don't you dare look back_  
 _Just keep your eyes on me_  
 _I said you're holding back_  
 _She said shut up and dance with me_  
 _This woman is my destiny_  
 _She said oh oh oh_  
 _Shut up and dance_

(Yukino):

 _I'll let you set the pace_  
 _'Cause I'm not thinking straight_  
 _My head's spinning around I can't see clear no more_  
 _What are you waiting for?_

[Both]:  
 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do_  
 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do_  
 _Touch me like you do, ta-ta-touch me like you do_  
 _What are you waiting for?_  
 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do_  
 _Love me like you do, la-la-love me like you do_  
 _Touch me like you do, ta-ta-touch me like you do_  
 _What are you waiting for?_

Lucy was sweating bullets now. She bit her lip and turned to Natsu. He looked nervous, but there was a smile on his face.

"Natsu, I might as well give up. I can't dance that well. I'm so sorry." She admitted.

He then turned to look at her and held her hand.

"Look at me, Lucy. Look straight in the eyes." Natsu urged. She did as he told.

"Do you trust me?" Natsu asked.

"I do, but…" Lucy started but then he placed his finger on her lips.

"Then, we can do this. That's what they lack. Their dance was fabulous, but they lacked trust in each other. They weren't able to show it, but for someone who knows dance well, would have instantly known it. Trust, Lucy is the key to our dance. And let go. Let go of your fears. Just think that the audience has disappeared. All that there is, is the song, you and your partner. That's what the stage does to performers." He smiled, and then patted her head.

She smiled at last, and nodded.

They then walked out on the stage. Lucy didn't notice Sting make a stinging comment "Take care girl. Just try not to show your knickers in that dress while dancing."

When she raised her head, she saw the audience staring at them. She suddenly felt frightened. But then, she felt a squeeze on her hand. She saw Natsu, and he smiled at her. When she turned to face the audience and the judges, all she saw were her friends smiling and cheering for them. She saw Lisanna and Mirajane holding a banner which only served to confuse her. It read 'NaLu For Life!'

She then heard the music play, and all she could see then was Natsu. No one else.

* * *

 _I would react badly_  
 _To the slightest hint of hesitance_  
 _He'd bend awkwardly to suit my mood_  
 _No word from his defense_

 _I'd cry knowing how my tears_  
 _Felt like acid burning through his skin_  
 _Pushed every little button_

 _Now he's afraid of me_  
 _Now he's afraid of me_

The starting of the dance was Lucy in ballet. Then, by the second stanza, Natsu entered the dance, and held her hand and spun her around. Then started the contemporary part of the dance which Jellal had taught them. Natsu raised her high and then she jumped in the air and landed gracefully on her feet.

 _It took me by surprise_  
 _The hatred in his eyes_  
 _I've pushed this man as far as he could go_  
 _But he lacked the words to let me know_  
 _He acted out, now I can see it is my fault_

Lucy froze in place, and Natsu did his part in solo, and it seemed as though someone was missing in his life. Then, Lucy started her part and Natsu froze. It again seemed as if Natsu's missing part was found, but now he was missing.

 _I made changes_  
 _That went unnoticed_  
 _Sang songs for deaf ears_  
 _He mistook my silence for punishment_  
 _As it had been all these years_  
 _I'd cry knowingly how my tears felt like acid burning through his skin_

 _Now he's afraid of me_  
 _Now he's afraid of me_

They started their parts again and their gazes seemed fierce, as if they were having a battle. Then, Natsu took her arms and twirled her like she were a doll, and it seemed as though he was flirting with her. She wrenched apart and did a slow split, which made the audience get goosebumps.

 _It took me by surprise_  
 _The hatred in his eyes_  
 _I've pushed this man as far as he could go_  
 _But he lacked the words to let me know_  
 _He acted out, now I can see it is my fault_

Natsu grabbed her waist again and they did a duet which could be described in only one word: seductive. They ended it with Natsu and Lucy dangerously close to each other, gazing at each other in pure rage and yet, with a pinch of love.

The audience was completely under their spell. It was like they watching a battle of who was the dominant one. Then, after a moment's silence, they burst into thunderous applause. The judges stood up, too, and clapped hard.

Natsu and Lucy were still in the ending position, panting heavily. After hearing the applause, they broke away and blushed at the distance between them. Then, they heard something that stood in the crowd.  
"WAY TO GO, NATSU AND LUCY!" All their friends yelled. Natsu and Lucy just grinned and exited the stage.

It is useless for me to tell you who the winner was unless you are a dimwit. Since Natsu and Lucy were the 'Audience favorite', they won the hearts of all, except the judges. They were impressed but insisted on giving Sting and Yukino the 'Judges favorite' award.

After a bit of voting, Fairy Tail was selected as the winner anyway.

* * *

When they exited the auditorium, Natsu streched and said, "Am I the only one who wants a break from all this mess?"

"Nope. Guys, any ideas?" Lucy asked.

"Drinking competition!" Cana exclaimed.

"Cana, we're underage!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Barbie doll shopping!" Wendy and Erza squealed.

"Are you fucking serious?" Gajeel and Gray screamed.

"Trip to the library?" Levy asked timidly.

"Maybe we'll do that later." Jellal said timidly.

"Swimming?" Juvia said absent-mindedly.

"Hell yeah!" Natsu yelled.

"How can you have so much energy for that?" Lucy commented.

"LET'S GO SWIMMING!" The rest of the group except Levy, Lucy and Jellal yelled.

Soon, they were left in the dust. They sweat dropped. "So, does that mean we are the only sane ones in this group?" They together said.

* * *

 **Forgive my lateness! I was too busy enjoying my vacation, and I wasn't loyal to my first fanfic. Also check out my other works:**

 **Rules Aren't For Everyone**

 **RoWen Prompts**

 **Wish You Could Be Mine**

 **Love Warning!**

 **Leave a review!**

 **Also, tell me what you think of the new cover image! I finally found one which has all the characters, except Jellal. Well, that can't be helped. Maybe he was...um...clicking the picture! :P Anyways, I'll see you in the reviews section!**

 **~Tia**


	11. Chapter 10: MMM

**Hey guys! Merry (late) Christmas! And Happy New Year! I know, I'm late again. This fan fiction has been beta-read by . A shout of thanks to her! Enjoy the new chapter!**

CHAPTER TEN

M.M.M

 _ **Previously:**_

 _After a bit of voting, Fairy Tail was selected the winner anyways. When they exited the auditorium, Natsu streched and said, "Am I the only one who wants a break from all this mess?"_

" _Nope. Guys, any ideas?" Lucy asked._

" _Drinking competition!" Cana exclaimed.  
"Cana, we're underage!" Lucy exclaimed. _

" _Barbie doll shopping!" Wendy and Erza squealed._

" _Are you fucking serious?" Gajeel and Gray screamed._

" _Trip to the library?" Levy asked timidly._

" _Maybe we'll do that later." Jellal said timidly._

" _Swimming?" Juvia said absent-mindedly._

" _Hell yeah!" Natsu yelled._

" _How can you have so much energy for that?" Lucy commented._

" _LET'S GO SWIMMING!" The rest of the group except Levy, Lucy and Jellal yelled._

 _Soon, they were left in the dust. They sweat dropped. "So, does that mean we are the only sane ones in this group?" They together said._

 **X.X**

 **A DAY BEFORE CHRISTMAS:**

 **(Midnight)**

A seventeen year old girl crept up to her older sister and tapped gently on her shoulder while she slept in her sleeping bag.

"Hey sis? This is important." She whispered.

Mira groaned and turned. "Not now, Lisa. I need my sleep."

Lissana made an impatient noise. "Sis, it's regarding N-A-L-U."

Mira's eyes shot open.

 **X.X**

 **AFTERNOON:**

"For the last time, Erza, we're not having that in the house!" Lucy cried loudly, as she tried her best (with help from Wendy and Juvia) to pull her cousin away from an enormous strawberry cake, (a lawn ornament) to keep as a Christmas decoration.

People were giving them incredulous looks, as they passed by them with bags of shopping towards their rooms. Lucy felt like Disapparating into thin air, only to remember that this was Fiore, not Harry Potter universe.

"Erza, look! There's a 50% discount on strawberry cakes in that bakery!" Cana tactfully said, pointing at some random cake shop. Within minutes, Erza Scarlet was nowhere to be seen.

Lucy sat down with her bags of decorations near the ornament. "Whew! Thanks a ton, Cana!" Cana gave a wink. "Anytime, girl!"

"So, what's left to be bought?" Juvia asked, consulting the list that Mirajane had given her while she and Lissana had disappeared to do some secret business.

The girls had offered to do the Christmas shopping, while the boys had offered to clean the house and prepare the snacks (all on Elfman and Natsu). The elders were delighted to hear this, and had gone to the beach, as a break from the youngsters.

Mirajane had made a list of what to buy, and then according to plan, the girls would split up and buy presents. Then, they would head to the beach house, and while the boys would head to buy their presents, while the girls decked up the house. By evening, the adults would head home and then, the celebrations would begin.

"Hm…it's time to split up." Juvia said, after consulting the list. "Wendy and Juvia are heading to do our shopping together." Saying so, she placed an arm around the little girl and headed towards their destination.

"Levy?" Lucy asked. Levy shook her head.

"Sorry Lucy. I promised I would go shopping with Cana." Levy said. "I hope you don't mind." She added quickly.

Lucy shook her head. "Nah…it is fine. Maybe I'll bump into Erza while shopping." She said, and laughed.

Cana cackled. "Well, see you later D-cups."

 **X.X.**

"Ugh…why is it so tough shopping for guys?!" Lucy cried out of the blue, startling some other customers.

She was on a floor dedicated to discount-related stuff. So far, she had bought key chains for some of the girls: A blue-cat shaped one for Wendy, a red-rimmed glasses for Levy, a cake for Erza and a key chain shaped like a pack of cards for Cana.

For Lisanna and Mirajane, she had bought t-shirts which said 'More than one shade of ME!' (A.N: Hope you get the joke!)

While for Juvia, she had bought a set of nail-paints, all in the shade of blue.

All these items were bought with discounts all above 20%. Now, she was finding difficulty buying something for the guys, because whatever they liked, were the ones without any discount. She sighed and ran her hand through her hair as she thought of some gift ideas. She almost on the verge of 'Googling' it, when an idea struck her like a thunderbolt.

 **X.X**

Lucy glanced at the jewelry shop first after she opened her eyes after one minute of intense thinking. Her plan was to buy something from the shop on which she laid her eyes first on after opening them. Then, she would enter the shop and whatever section caught her eye, she would buy something from that. And whoever she thought of first in there, would get whatever she bought from that particular shop.

She entered it, and looked around. She saw the imitation accessories first. She went there, and thought who the heck she would buy something from here. Then out of nowhere she thought of Gajeel.

" _ **No, not him! He already has enough piercings!"**_ Inner Lucy cried.

"Piercings?" Lucy said to herself.

She grinned broadly.

 **X.X**

"I can't believe I found myself here." Lucy sighed. It was a clothes shop.  
 **"** _ **Clothes? Who do you want to buy that for? Gray?"**_ Inner Lucy chuckled.

"Curse you!" Lucy yelled, and gained not just a present for Gray, but also quite some bewildered looks.

 **X.X**

" _Hm…what the heck am I supposed to buy from here?"_ Lucy mentally yelled.

She had found herself in a hair-care and hair-dye store. She looked around and her eyes landed on a bright colorful pot which said, 'Try the dazzling rose for girls today!'  
"Wait a second…" She grinned broadly, and didn't need the help of her inner self either.

 **X.X**

" _A book store? Now who's going to like books other than me and Levy?"_ Lucy thought.

" _ **I don't know. Maybe that Je…Jelly someone."**_ Inner Lucy said thoughtfully.

" _You know that's not a bad idea."_ Lucy agreed, and absently picked up a book and headed for the door.

"Excuse me, ma'am? You have to pay for comics too." The cashier called out to her.

 **X.X**

It was 6:00 pm. Lucy rushed with her many parcels and reached at the meeting spot.

"Lucy! You're late by fifteen minutes! We were supposed to reach home by six!" Erza scolded.  
"How were you…how were you able to buy all that in just half an hour?" Lucy panted, and pointed at Erza, who had about a dozen bags dangling from each arm.

"Oh these? It took no time at all. Well, the parcels on my right are all for me, while the ones of my left are for you guys! Christmas is the joy of getting!" She said happily.

"Giving." Wendy and Levy replied automatically.

Mirajane had a really suspicious bulge in her jacket pockets. So did Lisanna. Cana raised her eyebrows at them, but said nothing. She was the only one who noticed.  
"Whatever. Let's head home." Juvia said. "Gray-sama must be waiting for Juvia."

Lucy and Wendy sighed.

 **X.X**

 **EVENING:**

"Merry Christmas!" All the residents of the beach house raised their glasses of champagne, except the teenagers, who held smoothies or juices, cheered and clinked their glasses together.

"Come here, Lucy!" Erza yelled happily, and squeezed Lucy into a bone-crushing hug.

"Ugh…get of me, ERZA!" Lucy yelled, and tried to get Erza off her.

The older women laughed at the two.

"Layla, isn't that just like how you and Eileen were? She was always protective of you, and always hugging you for every reason!" Mika laughed and said. Suddenly, something distracted them from watching Erza and Lucy.  
"And take that, you icy bastard!" Natsu yelled, and gave Gray a blow.

"And what was that for, you stupid fireball?" Gray growled, and rubbed the back of his head.

"Merry Christmas blow!" He said, and laughed.

"What the f…." Gray began, but saw Mika's glare and Wendy's innocent and curious face. "Falalalalalalala! 'Tis the season to be joyful, fa la la la la la la la!"

"And that reminds me of you and Grandeeney!" Jennifer said with a laugh. "Why, the two of you were as good as boys! I wonder how your daughter didn't inherit your boyish traits, Grandee!"

"No, Gray is just like his dad!" Mika insisted.

"Yeah! And Natsu's as dumb as Igneel!" Grandeeney protested.

"Honey…" Igneel said, and cleared his throat.

Meanwhile, Wendy and Juvia just looked at their parents and smiled.

"It turned out quite fine, didn't it?" Metallicana said with a smile from behind, starling the two.

"Oh, that's true Uncle Metal-san!" Wendy said with a smile.

"After all we did put in a lot of efforts! I'm just glad the adults liked it!" Lisanna piped in.

And indeed, the house looked like a treat. The little chili lights around the windows, the streamers decorating the hall and stairs, made it really look like Christmas Eve. They were outside, under the beautiful night sky, and near the dark blue sea.

"That's right Lisanna. By the way, where's Mira?" Juvia asked.

"Oh, she's…gone to the bathroom." Lisanna said after a moment's hesitation.

"You're lying." Jellal called out, who had been getting the cake, and had missed some of the conversation, but come back just in time to hear Juvia.

"Not." Lisanna said firmly.

"You hesitated. Didn't she, Cana?" Jellal looked at the brunette, who nodded.

"You and Mira have been acting fishy all day. Don't pretend that you don't know." Cana said sharply. "What have you guys been doing?"

"Err…" Lisanna started, but was interrupted by Gajeel.

"Jellal, can you help me with the music system? The adults wanted to walk to the beach after dinner, so we guys have the house to ourselves. Natsu and I thought of a Christmas karaoke, so what say?" Gajeel asked.

"That's perfect! We could even have some songs to dance on!" Lisanna chirped, glad to be rescued by the unsuspecting Gajeel.

"Uh…" Gajeel said with a sweat drop, but was pushed aside by Lisanna who shouted really loud to the girls, "PARTY DANCE AFTER DINNER!" And the girls cheered while Gajeel groaned.

"Now no one will listen to the song I wanted to sing…" Gajeel sighed looking at Levy.

 **X.X**

 **NIGHT:**

The party of the night began for real. The teenagers went quite crazy, having secret pleasures like having alcohol without their parents' supervision. Natsu mesmerized all with his guitar, while Gajeel's Classic turned all to stone except Levy. Wendy was all dizzy, knocked out by a careless dose of the booze.

Juvia was clapping while Mira and Lisanna sang and danced to IDGAF. Gray looked at her curiously. She looked at him and smiled widely, and pulled him there and made him dance with him. Gray hesitated at first, but then grinned and joined her as well. Their extremely cute interaction made Mira and Lisanna swoon.

Jellal and Erza were holding hands and looking into each other's eyes, something they hadn't been able to do with the adults around who were sure to tease them. Cana was having the time of her life by having her favorite booze, and competing with Elfman for the best drinker award. It didn't matter that they were all below the eligible age for drinking; they were after all enjoying their freedom without their parents.

Lucy meanwhile was torn between closing her ears to Gajeel's horrendous singing, or singing with Mira and Lisanna, or helping Wendy up (who was beyond help) or yelling at Cana and Elfman (after all Lucy was the President) or cheering the cute couple holding hands.

Noticing her confusion, Natsu smiled and walked up to her.

"Wanna come along and sing?" He asked.

She put her hand to her ear, and shouted, "I can't hear you!"

Natsu repeated his question to her loudly this time. She grinned widely and nodded.

Natsu grabbed the mike from Gajeel ("What the hell, man!") and tapped on it to shut up everyone. Mira-Lisanna stopped squealing, Gray and Juvia stopped dancing, Levy stopped having hearts instead of pupils in her eyes, Jellal-Erza stopped looking into each other's eyes, Elfman and Cana stopped yelling "More Booze!" or "Man!" at each other, and Wendy woke up.

"We have a-something to present." Natsu said, winking at Lucy.

 **X.X**

While the teens were partying, the adults were walking in the sand and reminiscing their past memories. The wind swept Layla's hair on her face and she pushed it behind. Igneel caught up with her, as she was quite ahead of them.

"Not lonely are you?" He asked with concern.

"Nope." She replied with a smile and looked up at the night sky. It was beautiful to behold.

"Missing him, are you?" Igneel asked. Layla nodded with a sad smile.

"Hm…but I have to move on. That's what Jude would have wanted, and so would have Lucy." Layla said, and after a deep breath, smiled brightly at him. Igneel grinned back.

"I know how you feel. Even though he was the tsundere in our group, forever in his books and shooting me glares for goodness knows why, he truly loved you. By the way, why would he glare at me so much?" Igneel asked.

"That's because he thought that you were dating Layla." Grandeeney said, finally catching up with them. Layla laughed, while Igneel shook his head with suppressed laughter.

"Don't laugh! He did, and so did I! You two were so close; you were mistaken by many to be a couple!" Grandeeney said indignantly.

"Uh huh." Mika agreed, and ran to keep pace with the three.

"Well, I knew the truth that they were best friends, and also that Mika was dating Silver since second year of high school." Jennifer said with a sly grin.

"WHAT!" Grandeeney, Layla and Igneel turned and gaped at Mika.

Mika smiled nervously and shot a death glare at the smirking Jennifer. While she was being interrogated by the three, Metallic Ana sidled up to Jennifer and bumped fists with her.

"Good one." He said with a fanged grin.

"Thanks." Jennifer smirked.

 **X.X**

All turned to look at Natsu and Lucy and asked in one chorus, "What?"

"It's a game between me and Lucy. Simple rules: Sing whatever your heart says, or reply to the song. You guys can help us by suggesting songs. Want me to start?" Natsu asked Lucy. She nodded nervously.

Gajeel grinned when he thought of a song and whispered it Natsu, who grinned in turn.

He strummed his guitar, and started playing.

 _Oh-oh, ooh  
You've been running' round, running' round, running' round throwing' that dirt all on my name  
'Cause you knew that I, knew that I, knew that I'd call you up  
You've been going round, going round, going round every party in L.A.  
'Cause you knew that I, knew that I, knew that I'd be at one, oh_

 _I know that dress is karma, perfume regret  
You got me thinking 'bout when you were mine, oh  
And now I'm all up on ya, what you expect?  
But you're not coming home with me tonight_

 _You just want attention, you don't want my heart  
Maybe you just hate the thought of me with someone new  
Yeah, you just want attention, I knew from the start  
You're just making sure I'm never getting' over you_

Lucy blushed a deep red, but then grinned, just when he reached the right pitch, she started singing. Natsu grinned when she sang the song, and strummed its notes.

 _F-R-I-E-N-D-S  
That's how you f****** spell "friends"  
F-R-I-E-N-D-S  
Get that shit inside your head  
No, no, yeah, uh, ah  
F-R-I-E-N-D-S  
We're just friends_

So don't go look at me with that look in your eye  
You really ain't going nowhere without a fight  
You can't be reasoned with, I'm done being polite  
I've told you one, two, three, four, five, six thousand times

Haven't I made it obvious? (Have I not made it obvious?)  
Haven't I made it clear? (I made it very clear)  
Want me to spell it out for you? (Yeah)  
F-R-I-EN-D-S (I said F-R-I-EN-D-S)  
Haven't I made it obvious? (I made it very obvious)  
Haven't I made it clear? (I made it very clear)  
Want me to spell it out for you?  
F-R-I-EN-D-S  
F-R-I-EN-D-S

Natsu grinned and started playing one of his favorites which got catcalls from the audience. Jellal smirked and put his arm around Erza's waist. She squeaked, blushed but smiled in the end.

 _Ooh, don't we look good together?  
There's a reason why they watch all night long  
Yeah, know we'll turn heads forever  
So tonight I'm gonna show you off_

 _When I'm walkin' with you  
I watch the whole room change  
Baby, that's what you do  
No, my baby, don't play  
Blame it on my confidence  
Oh, blame it on your measurements  
Shut that shit down on sight  
That's right_

 _We out here drippin' in finesse  
It don't make no sense  
Out here drippin' in finesse  
You know it, you know it  
We out here drippin' in finesse  
It don't make no sense  
Out here drippin' in finesse  
You know it, you know it_

Lucy blushed, walked away, but Natsu didn't stop playing. Having enough of his flirting, she sang:

 _Girls, we do, whatever it will take  
'Cause girls don't want, we don't want our hearts to break in two  
So it's better to be fake, can't risk losing  
In love again, ba-abe_

 _This is how to be a heartbreaker  
Boys they like a little danger  
We'll get him falling for a stranger  
A player, singing I lo-lo-love you  
How to be a heartbreaker  
Boys they like the look of danger  
We'll get him falling for a stranger  
A player, singing I lo-lo-love you_

 _'Cause I lo-lo-lo-love you  
At least I think I do_

Natsu sighed and sang with his eyes gleaming with sincerity:

 _But you're my everything, (you're my)_

 _Everything (you're my)_

 _I'm sorry_

 _I love you_

 _I'm sorry_

 _I need you girl, why do I fall in love and say goodbye alone?_

 _I need you girl, why do I need you again although I know I'm gonna be hurt?_

 _I need you girl, you're beautiful_

 _I need you girl, you're so cold,_

 _I need you girl, (I need you girl),_

 _I need you girl_

They were no quite close, and Lucy was almost backed up against a wall. She looked away from his onyx eyes which were looking at nothing except her own brown ones. The entire room had gone quite. Erza didn't storm as she usually did, because this time, she was with Natsu. Jellal smiled proudly at how Natsu had admitted his feelings to Lucy. Mira and Lisanna were waiting with bated breath, while Wendy was redder than a tomato. Gray and Gajeel looked at each other, wondering what would happen. Cana was saying in an audible range, "The booze must have released Natsu's hidden side!" Elfman who wasn't so drunk yet, shushed her. Juvia's mouth was open, and she was quite happy that Lucy wasn't her love rival anymore.

"Look at me." Natsu said quietly.

Hesitating, Lucy looked at those eyes which she had adored.

"Why? Why me?" She whispered. "Am I _not_ your type?"

Natsu shook his head, and said, "You never had to be something called my type. You were always close to my heart. I was just too stupid not to realize it."

This extremely emotional conversation was spoken in such a low volume, that the others had crane their necks to hear them, which they couldn't anyway.

Lucy blushed, if possible, redder. She somehow escaped Natsu's presence and ran somewhere.

Erza called out to her, but she didn't listen. After that, there was utter chaos. Wendy tripped over Juvia's boots and caused Gray to fall over Juvia. Gajeel tried to catch Wendy, but ended landing his butt on Elfman's head. Levy tried to catch her best friend, but ended up falling flat on her face due to one of Cana's rolling bottles. Jellal tried to keep him and his girlfriend safe, but tripped over the cord of the mike and landed his face on the dinner table somehow. Erza tried to hunt for Lucy but in vain, was covered in head to toe in streamers. Cana looked at the mess, and started laughing loudly and collapsed on the big couch. Mira had quiet long ago been crushed under Elfman.

Only two persons survived the chaos. One of them was a pinkette desperately searching for the love of his life, while the other was a matchmaker desperate to see two friends end up together.

Meanwhile, a certain blonde was hiding beneath the kitchen table. Suddenly, she heard footsteps coming closer and closer by the second. She quickly drew her legs closer. But her platform heels made it impossible for her to hide, as their heels were so long. The pink glimmer of it was so noticeable.

She closed her eyes, preparing for the worst when a familiar voice made her open her eyes and sigh with relief.

"Here you are!" Lisanna whispered with relief. She had crouched down and was peeking

"Thank goodness! I thought you were Natsu for a moment." Lucy sighed.

"I'm not, but why did you run away from him?" She asked.

"I'm…I'm not ready for…" She started, but looked away. Lisanna sighed.

"Anyways, where you are hiding is very noticeable. I have a perfect place for you to hide." Lisanna said.

"Where?" Lucy asked.

"Just follow me." Saying so, Lisanna got up, and pulled Lucy along with her. Lucy didn't resist, trusting her. Deep down, she wanted Natsu's feelings, but somehow, she felt that she didn't deserve his feelings. He was too kind when she got to know him better, and cursed herself for thinking that he was just a pigheaded delinquent. He deserved someone who was worth his love, not her, she decided with a sinking feeling in her heart.

"Here we are!" Lisanna said, showing a corner in the hall which was quite secluded, and Lucy didn't know it existed until now.

"Thanks." Lucy whispered, and Lisanna gave her a smile.

While walking away from the hiding place, she sighed and said to herself, "What a fool…"

 **X.X**

Natsu, meanwhile, looked everywhere for Lucy. She was nowhere to be found. Not in the girls' room, nor in the kitchen, nor in the storage room where they both had practiced for the ISCDC.

"Where are you?" He whispered.

Still nowhere. He sat down on the ground and traced the part of the floor where Lucy had sat on whenever they took a break.

Was she disgusted by him? Well, he didn't blame her. She was a girl in a million, while he was just a fool in love. He had nothing to offer her except his heart. They had few similarities, but they had such different opinions.

Maybe he didn't deserve her love. After all, he had treated her so badly. How could she just forget it all and accept his love? He didn't blame her. She was of a different level altogether, and she would definitely fall for someone more intelligent or more mature.

Just then, someone interrupted him from his thoughts.

"There you are! You don't know how worried all of us were!" Lisanna cried, and pulled Natsu out of the room as well as his thoughts.

They were back in the hall, and Natsu saw that everyone was finally coming back to their senses. Still, there was no sign of Lucy. Disappointment filled his eyes, and he sat down.  
Wendy felt sorry for him and sat down next to him. She patted his back. He smiled at his sister, and gave her a side hug. Everyone, including Cana, was feelings sober now, and there was an air of gloom.

A gentle tap on his shoulder made him turn around. While everyone else started looking for Lucy, Natsu looked at the girl who found him in the storage room and gave a curious look. Wendy got up, and started looking for Lucy too.

A fair finger on her lips and movement beckoning Natsu to follow her, Lisanna led Natsu to a corner far away from the dinner table. She left him alone there, and went back to her sister with a sneaky grin.

Natsu curiously looked around. Why had Lisanna got him here? All of his queries were solved when; he saw a streak of golden, behind the side of a cupboard.

Lucy, meanwhile, was wondering why Lisanna had brought her here. True, it was a very good hiding place, but it prevented her from knowing what the heck was happening outside.

Suddenly, the cupboard shifted, and she saw a pair of onyx eyes. She squeaked, and tried to escape, but Natsu blocked the way, and she was forced to look into his eyes again. This was the first time after the ISCDC, that they had come so close. Both were blushing madly.

"Caught ya." Natsu whispered with a heartwarming grin that made Lucy's heart melt.

"Ah-HA! Mistletoe alert, lovebirds!" Mira and Lisanna cried.

Both looked up, and sure enough, there was the wretched green plant hanging above them.

"Merry Mistletoe Magic, the two of you! My X'mas present to you!" Lisanna hollered, and giggled. The rest of the residents gathered, and stared at them. All waited with bated breath.

Lucy looked at Natsu again. Those lovely eyes which she had adored, The emotion in them were so true, she felt like such a fool again.

And with the quickness of a Seeker, his lips met hers.

" _You're such a fool, Lucy Heartifilia."_

" _I know. And you're a disaster."_

 **And that's a wrap! OMG, that took forever to write. I have been writng this chapter since Christmas, and it has taken so much time! Once again, I would like to thank for her help, and lots of love to her!**

 **Anyways, I hope you liked it, 'cause I loved writing this! Besides, I loved adding the HP quirks in here, because I'm also such a big HP fan!**

 **Songs in this fic:**

 **Attention – Charlie Puth (Natsu)**

 **FRIENDS – Marshemello, Anne-Marie (Lucy)**

 **Finesse – Bruno Mars (Natsu)**

 **Heartbreaker – Marina and the Diamonds (Lucy)**

 **I NEED U – BTS (Natsu)**

 **Also about the mention of 'fools' in this fic so many time in the end, it was based of the cover of BTS of Fools. I wrote that part listening to that part!**

 **Anyways, this is where I leave the fic for the time-being! Thanks to for beta-reading it, and you lovely people for reading it!**

 **Give it a fav if you liked it; follow it if you want an epilogue or two and review if you loved it! Also tell me what you felt about this chapter.**

 **Lots of love,**

 **~Tia**

 **P.S: Let's reach 50 reviews!**


	12. Bonus: Merry Christmas!

**Hey guys! This isn't a chapter, but mostly part of the last chapter. At the end of this, I'll give you a special surprise!**

 **Have fun!**

 **CHAPTER 10.5**

"Merry Christmas!" All the teens cheered.

It was the morning of Christmas. The adults had come back from their walk quiet late, and by that time, the teens had managed to erase all evidence that they had drunk alcohol. Cana, completely passed out, had long ago left with Levy before the adults arrived.

They were all sitting near the Christmas tree after breakfast, opening presents. Cana and Levy had come back, and looking as fresh as though they had slept for a straight twelve hours.

"Okay, so who wants to go first?" Lucy asked.

"Let's start it off with the youngest." Erza suggested. Everyone agreed, and they looked at Wendy and her pile of presents.

"Okay, so here goes nothing…" Wendy coughed and said.

The first present turned out to be an autograph. "Natsu-onii, seriously?" She cried, and threw a pillow at him. He dodged it and grinned.

"Turn it around, kid." He said. When she did, she gasped and gave him a hug.

"My favorite band's DVD! Thanks!"

Her other presents were quite interesting: a little doll key-chain from Levy, an-all-you-can-eat-cake coupon from Erza, a book on birds from Jellal, a guide to rock music from Gajeel, homemade sweets from the Strauss siblings, a choker from Juvia and the cat-like key-chain from Lucy, which she loved. When she opened the last present, she blushed.

"What is it?" Juvia asked curiously. Wendy tried to hide the contents, but Mira seized it, and exclaimed loudly.

"Oh, my! Cana!"

Cana had gifted lingerie to the girl and written in a card: 'You'll need it soon!'

LEVY'S TURN:

"Okay, here goes nothing…" Levy whispered, pulling her pile of presents.

Her first present was the keychain from Lucy. "OMG! Lu-Chan, I love it!" She squealed, and gave her a hug.

Cana's present was quite a surprise. It was a rectangular parcel and quite heavy. "A book? Quite a departure from tradition, is it?" Levy asked with a puzzled look. Cana just smirked. When Levy unwrapped it, and saw the cover, she blushed and tried to hide it from view until Erza seized it and exclaimed the title loudly.

"'Hundred Fail-Safe Ways to Charm the Hottest: A guide for Nerds!' Cana!" Erza said with a laugh and threw the book back to Levy.

Levy's next present was a coupon for a free trip to a library she always wanted to go to. It wasn't signed by anyone, and didn't even have a card.

"Open the others and see who hasn't given you a present. The one whose name isn't mentioned is the person who gave it!" Lucy suggested.

Levy's other presents were as follows: a gothic fiction book by Jellal, an all-you-can-eat-ice-cream coupon by Erza, a jumper from Lisanna, a pair of fashionable ear-rings by Wendy, a box of her favorite toffees by Mira, a pair of cool shades by Natsu, a set of headbands all in the shade of blue by Juvia and a tin of chocolate-coated-strawberry marshmallows by Elfman. ("They're a manly present!")

All the girls except Levy were eyeing at a suspicious off-tune singer skulking in the background.

"Gajeel!" They squealed. "That was so adorable!" "You're adorable!" "No, they're adorable!"

"What the heck is wrong with you girls!" Gajeel exclaimed.

Levy just blushed, and muttered 'Thanks' to him. Gajeel went beet red.

JUVIA'S TURN:

"Juvia is so excited!" Juvia exclaimed.

Her presents were all, somehow, blue in color.

A blue bag from Wendy, a blue bottle of perfume by Natsu, the set of blue nail paints by Lucy ("Ah! Lucy-san! You are no longer Juvia's love rival!"), a blue two-piece swimsuit by Cana, a box of blueberry cookies by Elfman, a box of blueberry muffins by Mira, an all-you-can-eat-blueberry-yoghurt coupon by Erza, a blue dress by Lisanna, and a book on marine bio-technology by Jellal, which had a blue cover. Gray had given her a pair of dazzling blue earrings.

The last present was quite big. "Juvia wonders what could be in it." She thought.

It was a blue guitar by Gajeel.

"You could be my accompanist! We could have fun playing you know! Our band could be called 'The Metal and the Cloud'!" Gajeel exclaimed.

Everyone except Juvia had sweat drops.

" 'The Metal and the Cloud'?" She asked curiously.

"Yeah, because I'm made of metal and you're made up of tears. You keep raining them whenever you whine about Gray!" Gajeel said carelessly.

"Gajeel, run." Natsu said. And that Gajeel had to do, because Juvia was looking at him with a deranged look, holding the guitar in her hands.

"Today you die, Gajeel-san!" She yelled, and ran at him.

"HELP!" Gajeel cried.

LISANNA'S TURN:

Lisanna eyed her presents with a smile.

Her first present was a plush toy of a leopard by Mira.  
"Thanks Mira-nee!" She squealed.

Her presents were quite…um…interesting.

A book on 'Self-help' by Levy, a book of romance by Jellal, a porn magazine collection by Cana, a box of her favorite cupcakes from Elfman, a coupon for a free visit to a couples' show from Erza, a pink jersey from Gajeel **(remember Chapter 4! XD)** , a colorful album of her favorite songs by Natsu, and a pair of blue heels by Juvia.

She would smile each time a present was opened, but she never managed to start laughing or gushing. That is, until she opened the last one.

"Hm…what's this?" She murmured. When she opened it and she held it up, everyone in the hall reduced to helpless laughter.

Lisanna raised an eyebrow and tuned it around so she could see what was written on the T-shirt. She also started laughing.

Lucy's presents could sometimes be hazardous to health, because everyone stopped laughing at the 'More than One Shade of ME!' t-shirt after several minutes.

LUCY'S TURN:

Lucy took a deep breath. She didn't know what would come now.

Her first present was from Erza. It wasn't a coupon though. It was a square-shaped box. When Lucy opened it, she found a big cupcake and it had messy icing on it which spelt: 'Merry X'mas, Lucy!'

"Uh…I made it on my own. I think it is too sweet. And..." Erza started, but she didn't finish it because Lucy had given her a hug by then.

"Thanks, sis…" Lucy murmured.

"Uh…you're welcome. You have to open the other presents too, right?" Erza reminded, awkwardly patting her head, but smiling nonetheless.

Jellal had given her a book on Astronomy which made her eyes light up, Juvia had given her a pair of blue shades, Wendy had given her a dark blue hat, which was decorated with stars around its band ("I made it on my own! Is it bad?" Wendy asked anxiously. Lucy laughed and shook her head) Levy had given a collection of songs which were classics, ("OMG! Levy!"), Elfman had given a box of sugar-free snacks ("Just the way you like it, Lucy! Manly!") and Cana had given her a bottle of perfume which was supposed to be used before, *ahem*… ("CANA!")

Mira had set up a screen by then. She was projecting something on it. When the entire group stepped closer, they saw that it was Natsu and Lucy's dance video.

"Whoa~" They all exclaimed and shot sly looks at the pair. They blushed.

"Well…that was my Christmas present for the two of you!" Mira said happily.

They both face palmed, but still, thanked her.

Lisanna smirked, and pushed Natsu into Lucy's arms.

"I already gave you both my Christmas present yesterday, remember?" Lisanna teased. Lucy blushed, but Natsu smirked.

"Yeah, yeah. Now it's time for my present." Natsu said. Lucy pulled away and sat down. Natsu rummaged in his pocket for something.

"I got this yesterday…in case if you didn't accept my feelings. My actual present is there…but…" He scratched his head shyly, and handed her a bracelet. It was gold, and had something like keys hanging from it. When Lucy took a closer look, and saw that each had different zodiac sign on it.

"How did you…?" She whispered.

"Erza." Natsu prompted. Erza gave Lucy a cheery wave.

"So, do you like it? Is it…bad? Why aren't you saying anything?" Natsu asked, in a tensed voice.

"I Love it!" Lucy cried, and gave him a tight hug. "I love you, Natsu!"

The entire room went quite. Then it burst into whoops from the guys. The girls were squealing except for Erza, who was sobbing.

"Lucy's grown up…" Erza sobbed.

Natsu grinned brightly, and kissed her cheek. "Thanks. Um…Lucy, are you okay?"

She had fainted, apparently.

NATSU'S TURN:

Natsu looked like a kid opening his presents.

Almost each present had the same, fanged toothed, _useless_ expression reaction:

Erza's present: An all-you-can-eat-spiced-sweets coupon. ("I'm fired up now!")

Jellal's present: A book on volcanoes. ("I'm fired up now!")

Gajeel's present: A rock-pop-fusion album ("I'm fired up now!")

Elfman's present: A box of cinnamon short cakes ("I'm fired up now!")

Wendy's present: A key-chain in the shape of a fireball ("I'm fired up now!")

Juvia's present: A guide to Imagine Dragons (his favorite band) ("I'm _really_ fired up now!")

Levy's present: An encyclopedia on Dragon history ("I'm still fired up!")

Cana's present: A bottle of FireWhisky. ("I'm already fired up! I don't need whisky!")

When he opened Gray's present, he fumed with rage. It was a bottle of blond dye. "Now you and Lucy can have matching hair!" Gray hollered.

After their brawl and Erza's intervention, he decided to open Lucy's present. She was clutching her stomach now, and laughing a lot.

"Luce, how can you be so cruel!" Natsu whined, and held up two bottles of more dye: one with blue dye, the other with red dye.

"At least you and Wendy can have matching hairstyles!" She said, while giggling. The group was howling with laughter.

"What about the red?" Natsu fumed.

"You can twin with Dad! He would be so proud! Red is better than pink any day!" Wendy giggled.

"It's salmon not pink!" Natsu yelled.

CANA'S TURN:

"Well, I hope you guys have got me some good sh*t!" Cana said, and started unwrapping her presents.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"WHY ARE _NEARLY_ ALL OF THEM BOOZE?" Lucy cried.  
"I'm in heaven!" Cana cried, with comical tears, and kissed each bottle. The people who bought that particular present (Mira, Jellal, Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Elfman, Lisanna and Levy to be exact) had bright smiles on their faces. A little excessively bright, if Cana had noticed what Lucy had before she opened the bottle of booze by Gajeel.

"Cana no…" Lucy warned, but Cana paid no heed. She brought the bottle to her lips, and took a good gulp, before spraying it all on Lucy's shirt.

"It's not booze! It's apple juice!" She shouted at Gajeel, who gave her an innocent smile.

Each bottle contained some fruit juice: apple, raspberry, or any other juice which looked like booze even in the slightest.

"I will murder you guys!" Cana hissed, and was just about to explode, when Erza shoved her present in front of Cana.

"I'm sure you'll like this!" She said brightly. When Cana opened it grudgingly, her eyes brightened seeing what the present it was.

"An all-you-can-eat Tiramisu cake coupon! Erza, marry me!" Cana cried, with stars in her eyes.

"Hands off!" Jellal thundered, and held Erza close to him.

And after that, Cana opened the presents from Lucy, Juvia and Wendy which were almost the same: the card-shaped keychain from Lucy, a cat of deluxe playing cards by Juvia and a hat which was adorned with a heart, a club, a spade and a diamond by Wendy. Cana kissed all of them as a way of telling how much she loved them.

GRAY'S TURN:

Gray's presents were…let's just say that they were his presents.

"WHY give ME a fucking DIARY? Which Saint Louis smarty thought of this?" Gray roared. Jellal raised his hand, and was laughing his ass off.

 **(A/N: This is a personal joke for those who have read Rules Aren't For Everyone! XD)**

"You're my best mate, Jellal! How could you do this to me?" Gray said, in a mock betrayed tone.

"Gray, Gray…you have so many pent-up feelings in you…don't you need somewhere to pen them down?" Jellal said, in a mock concerned tone. Shooting the bluenette a glare, Gray turned back to the rest of his presents.

He unwrapped Natsu's present which turned out to be a DVD. It had the cover of his favorite movie _Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life_.

 **(A/N: I'm wheezing now. XD)**

"Geez…thanks bro!" Gray said, and opened the DVD box. It contained a CD of _Frozen_. Natsu started laughing loudly. Throwing the DVD cover at him, Gray huffed and turned back to his presents, which to him were more satisfactory.

Lisanna had got him a box of his favorite shaved ice syrup, Mirajane and Elfman had given him a box of homemade popsicles (which had made Natsu guffaw for personal reasons), Gajeel had given him a set of metal bracelets, Levy gave him a book of Hans Christian Anderson called _The Snow Queen_ , Wendy gifted him his favorite candy, Erza gifted him a coupon of an ice-cream parlor which guaranteed 50% discount on all purchases, Cana gave him ice-cold beer ("I nicked it from the adults' cupboard" Cana whispered to Lucy) and at last he opened Juvia's present.

It was a chain to be worn around the neck, and had a big silver cross hanging like a pendant.

"Juvia thought that it would suit Gray well." She said, fidgeting with her dress.

The girls cooed at her cuteness, while the guys smirked at Gray.

"Uh…it's very nice, Juvia. I'll wear it all the time." Gray said without a trace embarrassment, and slipped the necklace round his neck where it lay on his bare chest.

"But…what if something happens to it?" Juvia asked, sounding worried.

"I won't let anything happen to it." Gray said simply, which made Lisanna and Mira faint from fangirling, and Juvia turn into a fiery shade of red.

Gray opened the last present which was from Lucy. Looking at its contents, he glared at the blonde, who was now turning purple from controlling her laughter.

"LUCY! HOW COULD YOU?!" He roared like an injured animal, holding the checked shirt up.

Lucy burst out laughing. Natsu roared with laughter, while Jellal was rolling on the floor laughing, and Gajeel banged his fist on the table laughing. Erza was trying her best not to smile, while Wendy and Levy erupted into fits of giggles. Lisanna and Mirajane woke up from the sounds of laughter, and looked around looking confused.

GAJEEL'S TURN:

Gajeel looked at the gifts with a poker face.

"Let's see what shit you guys have gifted me." He said in an uninterested tone.

His extremely 'reactive' reaction to his Christmas presents:

Lisanna: A red jersey. ("He he…thanks!" Gajeel said a little too brightly.)

Mira: A batch of chocolate chip cookies. ("Wow! These chips taste like iron!" Gajeel beamed.)

Elfman: Another batch of chocolate chip cookies. ("This tastes like chocolate!" Gajeel whined.)

Natsu: An album of Beatles ("Thanks!") which turned out to be a collection of sappy Disney songs. ("What the fuck man?")

Cana: A book which was an anthology of old rock songs. ("Wow! _You_ got him that?" Lucy asked. Cana scowled at her. "I had no choice. That ass owns more _good_ stuff than me." Cana said with a pout. Lucy didn't bother to ask what she meant by _good_ stuff.)

Jellal: A hardbound book with steel letters on it which said: 'A History of Iron'. (No reaction.)

Juvia: A bunch of Chocolate Frogs. ("Really?")

Wendy: An embroidered handkerchief. ("Thanks, Wendy!" Gajeel said, beaming. Apparently, he liked embroidery.)

Lucy: A set of iron rings. ("Lucy! I shall be eternally grateful to thee! TANK OOO!")

Gray: A hard-rock album. ("This isn't a prank, is it?" Gajeel muttered, opening the cover. "Dude! I spent a thousand jewels on that!" Gray said in an injured voice.)

Erza: A coupon for 12% discount on rock-cakes. (No reaction)

Levy: A steel bracelet. ("Iron could rust, so…" Levy started squeaking, but Gajeel cut her off with a shy "Thanks".)

Thus, we can safely conclude that Gajeel is one of the few sane people in this group of family friends.

 **Or is he?**

ELFMAN'S TURN:

Elfman opened his presents, and unless you are a very dim person, you would have probably guessed his reaction to his presents.

Lisanna: A big teddy bear. ("Manly!")

Mira: A box of peppermint bugs (his favorite) ("Manly!")

Cana: A box of liquorices ("Manly!")

Jellal: A book on baking ("Manly!")

Levy: Another book on baking. ("Still manly!")

Gajeel: A black jacket ("Manlier!")

Natsu & Wendy: A brown jacket ("Manlier than ever!")

Gray: A blue jacket ("What's with the jackets?")

Juvia: A shirt from his favorite brand. ("Manly!")

Erza: A coupon with a 40% discount on all purchases from his favorite chocolate brand. ("You're the manliest, Erza!")

Lucy: A plushie of a reptile-like creature. ("This is the manliest present ever!")

And thus, we can conclude that Elfman got the manliest presents ever.

ERZA'S TURN:

Why should I even bother telling you what the presents were? Isn't it damn obvious?

Wendy, Natsu, Lucy, Levy, Cana, Elfman, Mira, Lisanna, Gajeel, Gray and Juvia: Strawberry cheese cake. ("I LOVE ALL OF YOU! I SHALL NOW CONSIDER INVITING YOU TO MY WEDDING!" Erza bellowed. "Consider?" Natsu said in disbelief.)

However, Jellal got her something else. When she unwrapped his present, she let out a soft gasp. It was beautiful necklace, with a tiny glowing silver pendant which resembled a sword. No words escaped Erza's mouth. Jellal sat next to her, with a tensed expression.

"What's the matter? Didn't you like it?" He asked, sounding worried.

Erza just kissed him in reply.

("Erza! Don't eat that! It's a keychain, not an actual cake!" Lucy yelled, while Erza looked up in horror.)

MIRAJANE'S TURN:

"Oh! I'm so excited for your presents!" Mira Jane squealed.

Her presents were quite pretty. And almost all were pink.

A pink bag from Wendy and Natsu, a pink hat from Juvia, a pink pair of sunglasses from Gray, a book with a pink cover _Northanger Abbey_ from Jellal, a box of pink boiled sweets by Elfman ("Your favorite, sis!"), a pink pair of earrings from Erza, a pink bottle of perfume from Cana ("This isn't…?" Lucy asked. "Nope. Couldn't find what I wanted to." Cana sighed sadly.) a box of candyLucy's shirt which had already been opened during Lisanna's presents' opening session.

For a devilish Cupid, Mirajane's reactions to her presents were pretty normal. In fact, hers and Jellal's were the _only_ normal reactions were Lucy's opinion.

And I won't bother telling you about Jellal's reactions. They were the same for nearly each present.

"But…I already have this book!"

And Lucy's comic book brought him to tears.

"Thank you, Lucy! Nobody's ever thought of getting me something light to read!" He said tearfully. Lucy nodded with an awkward smile, while Natsu lifted the book.

"Light? It's frigging heavy!"

 **That's a wrap!  
And the epilouge will be called:**

 **NASHI & LUNA: DOUBLE DISASTER!**

 **Bye readers, and have a happy Diwali!**

 **~Tia**

 **P.S.: there is a poll on my bio which is abut which ideas to pursue after VC And RAFE. Please check it out, and help me decide what I should write next!**


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